Remnants of Uzushio
by Loco Mortis
Summary: Naruto is the son of a couple who escaped Uzushio's destruction. This son, this remnant of a once great clan, will bring the Uzumaki back to their former glory and maybe world peace while he's at it... Warning! AU, OoC, a few OCs. The pairing will eventually be Naruto and Mito. Mito is the jinchuriki daughter of kushina and minato, and is named after the first jinchuriki.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Naruto is the son of an Uzumaki couple who had escaped the destruction of Uzushio. He dreams of restoring the Uzumaki clan to its former glory. Being trained from a young age, Naruto isn't that far off form achieving his dream. After traveling the elemental nations with his remaining family, Naruto decides to take a short vacation and experience the festival held every year in Konoha on the day of the Kyuubi's defeat. Little did Naruto know...that his vacation of his would be anything but relaxing.

**A/N: Hello everybody! This is my very first story on this site :)**

**Hopefully it lives up to everybody's expectations. The pairing** **_(because every story needs some romance :P)_ is Naruto and Mito,who is the daughter of Kushina and Minato in this AU. Naruto and Mito are very distant cousins in this story, so there isn't much to argue about in regards to incest. Naruto will also have a different personality than his canon counter-part. He will be more calm and collected. But don't worry, he'll still have certain traits of the old Naruto. He still loves to mess with people, except not through pranks. This Naruto just loves to make people irritated. His love of ramen is also there, it's just not as extreme as some other stories make it out to be. Mito, on the other hand, will have the majority of Naruto's canon personality. There are just a few bits of Kushina's personality thrown in, primarily her temper. There are other things I could mention, but I feel it would give part of the story away. Anyway, this story will follow the canon story line for the first part. Part 2 is where I will pick up the pace, so to speak. Anyway, without further adieu!**

**Remants of Uzushio:**

**Chapter One**

The warring states were a time of great darkness for the ninja world. Various ninja clans battled non-stop. However, the chaos was ended by the truce between Hashirama Senju, leader of the Senju clan, and Madara Uchiha, leader of the Uchiha clan. They agreed to create the very first shinobi nation, made up of many other clans that agreed to the alliance. Alas, the peace woudld not last. Madara had been denied the position of Hokage, the leader of the village. Madara left the village and Hashirama chased after him. Hashirama was accompanied by his brother Tobirama and his wife Mito Uzumaki. Madara and Hashirama shortly started a battle of epic proportions and at one point Madara had summoned the Kyuubi to fight, but it was quickly restrained and Mito sealed it into herself. The fight soon ended in favor of Hashirama who ended the struggle by running Madara through the stomach and leaving him to die in the newly created valley.

As the years passed, Hashirama died in the first shinobi world war and his brother became Hokage in his stead. Tobirama later died in the second shinobi world war, passing the title of Hokage to his student Hiruzen Sarutobi. However, the most troubling event happened during the second war. The complete annhilation of Uzushiogakure, home to the infamous Uzumaki clan.

During the Warring States period, the Uzumaki clan were nomads, traveling from place to place until they eventually settled in Uzushiogakure. Uzushiogakure was located on an island surrounded by massive, naturally occurring whirlpools. The Uzumaki had created seals so that only people of the clan could safely enter the island. Unfortunately, the other hidden villages had deemed the Uzumaki clan to be too great of a threat to be left alone. Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure had joined forced to exterminate the Uzumaki clan. For the most part they were successful, but they suffered heavy losses of their own. The Uzumaki clan had refused to go down without a fight, and even with being severely out numbered, the Uzumaki clan had managed to wipe out over sixty percent of the enemy forces before falling. That battle had carved the Uzumaki clan a place in the history books. A single clan had managed to defeat a little over two villages worth of ninja, over two thousand soldiers, before being defeated.

Mito had grieved for the loss of her clan and was known as the only Uzumaki left other than Kushina Uzumaki, her great grand niece. Kushina was sent to Konoha before the clan was attacked because she was to become the next jinchuriki of the Kyuubi. Kushina had an unnaturally strong chakra that could restrain the demonic chakra of a bijuu, which made her the perfect candidate for become the container. Kushina was understandably more than upset after hearing of her clan's fate, but was determined, as the Uzumaki heiress, to make sure her clan doesn't die off.

However, unknown to both of them, there _were_ some Uzumaki left scattered throughout the elemental nations. There were a few Uzumaki who had secretly left Uzushio to continue wandering the elemental nations and eventually, those wandering Uzumaki had decided to settle down in one area or another. Despite their reasons for leaving, those few Uzumaki had made sure to copy enough knowledge to ensure that even though they were away from the clan, their legacy wouldn't be forgotten by their children. Most of the stray Uzumaki were settled in remote parts of Mizu no kuni.

**-Fast Forward to 3 years before the Kyuubi incident-**

Rei Uzumaki was having a bad day. First her water had broke while she was trying to take a nap, second her husband hadn't been there to help her to the village's medical center, and finally, when her husband did get there, he was getting on her nerves with all his panicked shouting about her having the baby.

"Dammit, Haru! If you don't stop shouting I'M GONNA TEAR YOU A NEW HOLE TO SCREAM OUT OF!" Screamed Rei as another contraction caused pain to rip through her body. The doctor in front of her was steadily guiding her through the delivery, instructing her to breath and when to start pushing. After another two hours of yelling and hand breaking, Rei was gently holding their newborn son while Haru was busy healing his hand with what little medical abilities he had. When he was done he got a good look at their child. The baby had dark red tufts of hair on its head, and when he opened his eyes the parents saw dark purple irises. Both parents had loving smiles as they stared at their child.

"He's an Uzumaki alright," Haru said with a smirk, his own purple eyes shining with satisfaction. Like his wife, Haru Uzumaki also had red hair, the tell-tale signs of Uzumaki heritage. Haru had sharp facial features and a thin scar below his right eye that trailed down to his to his jaw. His hair was shaggy and slightly spiky. Unlike his wife and son, his eyes were navy blue in color. Haru had a large build, but was not so bulky that it impeded his movement.

"Of course he is, you idiot. We're both pure blooded Uzumaki." Rei chided her husband softly so as to not disturb their newborn son. Rei had a heart-shaped face and slightly round eyes that were half lidded in exhaustion. Her hair went down to her shoulder and she had a fringe that covered her left eye slightly. Rei had a moderately curvy body type. Modest B-cup breasts, slim waist, nice hips, and had fair skin which made her vibrant red hair more pronounced. Her hair was currently matted down by sweat, caused by the exhertion of child birth. Despite the exhaustion she was experiencing, she had a 'glow' around her as she held her son close.

"So...what are we gonna name him?" Haru asked as he leaned closer to his wife.

"Hmm...how about Naruto? In memory of the maelstroms of Uzushio..." Rei said as she smiled sadly for the loss of her homeland. Both she and Haru had decided to leave Uzushio before they had started their family. They decided that a life in the country was better than in a crowded city, even if the people in the city were all family. They had settled down in a small town near the boarder of Mizu no Kuni and eventually Rei found out that she was pregnant with their first child, Naruto. But shortly after they learned that Uzushio had been destroyed and they grieved for the loss of the clan. They promised that they would keep the Uzumaki alive and would teach their child everything they knew about being a ninja, primarily the Uzumaki clan's trademark. Fuinjutsu.

"That sounds like a great name, Rei." Haru said as he kissed his wife's forehead. "I can already tell that he's going to be extremely powerful, and I'm not just saying that because he's my son. His chakra is already huge for his age...almost chunin level. Having this much chakra after just being born is simply absurd." Haru finished seriously.

"Then that just means that we'll have to train him sooner, rather than later." Rei said simply. "Especially since the Mizukage started the blood purges. He'll need to be able to defend himself in case we're not there." Haru could only nod as he silently vowed to protect his family from any threat.

**-Five Years Later-**

"Okay, Naruto. We've spent the past year training you in hand-to-hand combat, and you mother and I are proud to say that you are on par with an above average genin. This year, we'll be focusing primarily on your chakra. You'll be learning various methods to both control and master your chakra. Now, our clan has had a history for having extraordinary chakra. Some of the people in our clan had even developed special skills that are similar to bloodlines. They are similar in that they can't be copied or taught, but different because the ability cannot be passed down to your offspring. Each skills is unique, there are no two abilities that are the same. There were only a few recorded cases of abilities being awakened, but those people who did awaken their ability grew to be immensely powerful." Haru explained to the five year old Naruto, who showed no trouble following the explanation. "The most powerful Uzumaki that ever lived had such an ability. His name has long been lost to us, but he was a legend. His ability allowed him to control fire on a near God-like level. A flick of his wrist would create great columns of fire that would incinerate his foes in a matter of second"

Naruto was abnormally intelligent for someone his age, and he showed immense promise in what ever he was taught. He absorbed information like a sponge and was always looking for ways to improve whatever he was taught. He was currently hanging onto every word that his mom and dad said, interested in the rare trait of the Uzumaki clan.

"Your father is right Naruto, the stories tell of him being able to control even volcanoes. Almost every Uzumaki dreams of awakening such a power, but very few actually do. If you do have one, I'm sure it'll be unlocked at some point in your training because we will be training you to become one of the strongest. You're representing the Uzumaki clan after all." Rei said as she smiled at her son. Naruto was enthralled by hearing of his clans potential. He hoped that he would one day be as powerful as his parents believe him to be capable of, but he realized that he had a long way to go. He was determined to make his parents proud.

In the five years since Naruto had been born, he had grown quite a large amount. He was about three feet and eight inches tall, which was above average for his age. Naruto's hair was a little odd, though. On one side of his head his hair was shaggy and disorderly, he also had bangs that partially covered his right eye. On the left side of his head, his hair wasn't as long as the right side of his head and it was slightly spiky. Naruto's eyes were still a deep shade of purple and shone with an intelligence that was unheard of in a five year old. However, there was still a child-like innocence in his eyes that betrayed that intelligence. Naruto's parents on the other hand, haven't changed that much, except for a few wrinkles here and there.

"Alright, Naruto. That's enough explaining things, time for the practical stuff." Rei said as she started to instruct Naruto unlocking his chakra. Rei and Haru gave Naruto another, yet brief, explanation of how to unlock his chakra. Surprisingly, depending on who is asked, Naruto was able to unlock his chakra after a half-hour of trying. This only made his parents even more proud of their son, but they pushed their feelings aside and started to teach Naruto how to control his newly acquired chakra.

**-Fast Forward Five More Years-**

During the five years of Naruto's continued training they had brought his chakra control to a point where it was one par with Tsunade. Naruto had just kept coming up with new ways to train his control, mostly by combining concepts from other training methods. Naruto had even refused further training until his control was at a level he deemed satisfactory. The reason Naruto was so adamant about control was that his parents had told him that fuinjutsu required moderately high levels of control, and that the better your control was, the less chakra you waste doing jutsu and such. Naruto had also manifested his own chakra ability during a spar that almost went wrong. Haru had sent a lightning jutsu towards Naruto, who was unprepared, and was almost severely injured. Naruto's chakra ability happened to manifest in a strange way. Naruto's chakra had started to leak out and take a solid form, shielding him from the lightning jutsu.

Naruto was astonished that he had actually managed to gain this rare gift, but he wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth. After Rei had found out, Haru was harshly punished for almost killing her baby boy, and was sentenced to four months on the couch. Naruto had forgone naming his ability and immediately started to train with it. He After much training and experimenting, Naruto was finally able to master his new ability. It wasn't that hard considering the level of control he had. The great thing about his chakra, in Naruto's opinion, was that its versatility seemed to have no end. It had great offensive and defensive capabilities, and the only way to overpower his shield was if the attack had more chakra than the shield. That in itself was difficult considering how much chakra Naruto now had for someone his age, low-jounin to be exact, and his reserves would only increase with more training. There was a down side to Naruto's ability though. It was extremely taxing on his reserves and that was saying a lot in Naruto's case. He could only use his chakra ability for about twenty minutes before being too drained to continue. Naruto hoped to get his reserves to a higher level so he could use it more efficiently, but he wouldn't become reliant on it like most bloodline clans. A shinobi should be able to use many different skills proficiently after all. One-trick ponies tended to die quickly in the ninja world.

Naruto's parents had also showed him his nature affinity, which was lightning. This surprised his mother and father because they had expected water, like most Uzumaki. The only reason Haru knew a couple lightning jutsu was so that he could enhance his wife's water attacks during a fight. This would make learning jutsu difficult for Naruto as Haru only knew one or two lightning jutsu, and Rei only knew water and earth techniques. One jutsu that was immediately taught to Naruto, was the Shadow Clone Jutsu. The Shadow Clone Jutsu was a high A-ranked reconnaissance technique that was known to almost every Uzumaki. It was easier to use than the standard illusion-based clone because the Uzumaki always had large amounts of chakra.

Naruto's training in taijutsu had also excelled far beyond his parents' expectations. His taijutsu was actually high chunin level, this would help him in a fight because who would expect a ten year old to throw a punch that could topple a small tree. The reason Naruto trained so intensely in taijutsu was because he believed that flashy jutsu were unnecessary in most cases. Jutus over complicated things. If you wanted things done, do it with your own two hands. To complement Naruto's close-quarter skills, his parent have taught him how to use a dagger that was about ten inches long and four inches wide. The metal had a black finish so that it didn't reflect light, making it perfect for assassinations. The dagger also had no guard and the hilt was wrapped in a simple black cloth. It was Naruto's tenth birthday present.

Lately, both Rei and Haru have been talking about leaving their current home and start traveling the world. The main reason for this is so that Naruto would gain experience and perhaps a few more techniques from those willing to teach him. Another reason, is that they hoped that they would find any other Uzumaki that had survived the genocide of their clan. It was currently around midnight and Naruto was fast asleep. Haru and Rei were in bed with Rei in Haru's arms. They were once more talking about leaving their quiet home.

"Are you sure that we should be traveling at this time? The purges have been increasing and I have heard of a rebellion that is about to start. I don't want Naruto to get caught up in that." Rei said as she rested her head in the crook of her husband's neck.

"There will always be a chance that we will be attacked by the Mizukage's forces, Rei. The Uzumaki _are _ technically a bloodline clan. And even if they didn't think so we live in a deserted village. There are most likely several bloodline families here right now. A village far into the country is a perfect hiding spot for them. _Too_ perfect. If I were the Mizukage, villages like this would be the first place I check." Haru said seriously. "The best chance we have to get out of Mizu, is to get out before the rebellion. That way we don't get caught in the crossfire of any battles. I'm sure we can all hold are own, even Naruto, but now is the best chance to leave. If we do get out, the first place we should go is Hi no Kuni. The leaf village is the most peaceful village, and they wouldn't be suspicious of a small family that escaped the purges of Mizu." Haru finished calmly.

"Yes, you're right. But I'm worried about Naruto...he's too young to experience the world we live in. All the bloodshed and violence. I don't want him exposed to that. Maybe if he were a bit older...but you're right. Now is the safest time to leave." Rei said as she silently worried about her baby boy.

"Naruto will be fine. He's the most skilled child I have ever seen. No one from our clan has ever been this talented at his age. As long as he remembers his training, and doesn't hesitate, he will be fine. And if not, we can help him." Haru reassured his wife. Rei turned her head to smile at her husband and gave him a kiss good night.

"Alright, it's settled. We'll be leaving Mizu no Kuni and heading to Hi no Kuni. We'll talk to Naruto about this in the morning after training." Rei said as she closed her eyes. Haru only nodded as he was already half-asleep.

-**The Next Day, After Naruto's training**-

Naruto was in his training clothes, a simple gi and pants, when his parents motioned him over to them. When Naruto walked up to the porch behind their modest home, he saw his parents sitting on a bench. As soon as Naruto was in range he was pulled into his mother's lap. Rei was a very touchy feely when it came to her family. Only her family saw this side of her, everybody else knew Rei for her calm and somewhat cold personality. Haru on the other hand was goofy and loved to mess with people. Teasing his wife was a favorite pass time for him. Contrary to what the other people in the village saw, Haru _was_ capable of being serious when the time calls for it. This was one such moment where Haru showed how serious he can be.

"Naruto...how strong do you think you are at the moment?" Haru asked his son. Naruto was confused by his father's sudden seriousness, but answered the question regardless.

"Uhmm...I would say that my taijutsu is around high chunin without my chakra ability. With it, it's jounin level. My potential for genjutsu and medical jutsu is high, given my high chakra control. My skills with my dagger are decent... there is still room for improvement. My number of ninjutsu is lacking, but that doesn't really bother me. My chakra reserves are high jounin and my stealth capabilities are chunin at the moment." Naruto listed. "Overall I would say I'm at least a mid-chuunin due to my lack of experience." Rei could only smile at her son's modesty. Both she and Haru knew that their son was far more skilled than Naruto himself liked to believe, but to Rei, Naruto will always be her baby boy. Rei wished that all of the training he went through wasn't necessary, that the world wasn't filled with death and war. However, Rei knew that such thoughts were pointless. The world wouldn't change because one person wished it to happen. Change was a group effort, for it to happen all the nations of the world had to agree upon it. Change couldn't be forced. This was always something that Rei believed in, something that she passed onto her son. After hearing Naruto's self-evaluation Rei decided to give her input.

"It's good that you don't think so highly of yourself because of your skills, Naruto. I would hate to have to beat the arrogance out of you...but you're right for the most part. The lack of experience is what stops you from being as strong as most jounin. That is why your father and I have decided that the three of us will start traveling around the world. That way we will be able to get you the experience you need. We can also head to Kaminari no Kuni to get you some lightning techniques." Rei explained. Naruto then voiced his displeasure with going to lightning country.

"But Mom! I don't need any more jutsu. I'm fine with sticking to just taijutsu and fuinjutsu." Naruto complained. Naruto had been taught fuinjutsu the moment he unlocked his chakra. Naruto was proud to say that he was as good as his parents in his family's art. Haru was quick to silence his protests.

"Naruto, you're eventually going to need some ninjutsu. If you get overwhelmed ninjutsu is a reliable tool to fend off a large amount of enemies. You even said yourself that one-trick ponies make bad ninjas. You're starting to rely too much on your taijutsu." Haru said, being the voice of reason to his son. Naruto stubbornly refused to believe that for a couple minutes, but he eventually conceded to his father's explanation. Rei then decided to finish the conversation.

"Then it's settled, we'll be leaving in two days. That should be enough time to seal up our home. We'll take anything necessary and seal them into smaller scrolls for easier access on the road." Rei said as she set Naruto on the ground and went to prepare. Haru only shook his head fondly at his wife.

"Ahh, she always so thorough about everything she does." Haru said to Naruto. "When you were conceived, your mother practically planned every detail out for the entire time she was pregnant with you."

"You get that way sometimes too, Dad. Besides, there is no harm in being too prepared." Naruto told his father.

"You're right son, but sometimes the smaller details slip our minds." Haru said as he and Naruto walked into their house. "C'mon, let's go help your mother."

-**Six Years Later-**

The past six years haven't been the best for Naruto. Getting out of Mizu no kuni had been more difficult than expected. They had almost been killed by a patrol of five jounin. The family of three had defeated them, but had gotten a few new scars in the process. They spent the next four years going from place to place, finding different teachers for Naruto. Most of his teachers were missing nin, most because the family didn't want to get involved with the hidden villages. The way that Haru and Rei got missing nins of all people to train their sons, were by small favors. One of the missing nin that taught Naruto were Momochi Zabuza, in exchange for strengthening his sword with seals. From Zabuza, he learned the silent killing technique, something unique to Kirigakure. There were other less notable missing nin that taught Naruto. From those shinobi he learned various jutsu. He even learned some more lightning techniques from a Kumo missing nin while they were in Kaminari no kuni.

However, that was when everything started going downhill for the family. During the fifth year of wandering the elemental nation. Haru had caught a disease when they were in Kaminari no kuni. It was a rare disease that only one in five hundred people got it. It was fueled by one's chakra and over time it caused organ failure. It was an incurable disease. It was the epitome of bad luck that Haru of all people contracted the fatal disease.

Haru had died five years into their trip at the age of thirty-eight. He was buried in the remains Uzushio, joining his fallen brethren in the afterlife. They had build a shrine for him and the rest of their deceased clan.

Both Naruto and Rei were heart-broken at Haru's death and mourned for many months before they started their journey once more. After several months of traveling, they decided that they would go their seperate ways for a short time. They were currently in Hi no Kuni, and both wanted to go to different places. Naruto wanted to go to Konoha and see the Kyuubi festival. His mother wanted to go to one of the other festivals at a neighboring resort-typed village. The villages were relatively close to one another, so they saw no harm in splitting up for a short time. Normally Rei wouldn't let her son out of her sight, especially after her husbands death, but she was reluctant to enter a hidden village. Even if the Uzumaki clan had been allies of Konoha, they still did nothing while Uzushio was destroyed. Rei gave Naruto one last kiss on the cheek before they parted ways.

**-At the Gates of Konoha-**

Konohagakure no Sato, the village hidden in the leaves. One of the five great shinobi nations. As it's name suggests, the village is surrounded by thick, lush forests that were created by the Hashirama Senju the—the first Hokage. The village was surrounded by massive walls and the Hokage's tower was located right in the middle. There are four gates that allow people to enter and exit the village, each with their own guard station where you check in. That way everyone who enters or leaves the village is accounted for, any possible threats are noted and sent to the Hokage via Anbu.

It was a quiet and peaceful morning morning for the guards of the east gate. They were still drowsy from pulling an all-night shift and didn't notice a person walking up to the stand until he started speaking.

"Excuse me, are you two okay?" The voice sounded like a male who was in his teens and least. The sudden noise snapped the guards out of their daze. The guards were now alert and started to subtly evaluate the person in front of their stand. The young man looked to be around fifteen or sixteen and was around six feet tall. He had dark red hair that was long and shaggy on the right side of his hair while the left side of his head had hair that was shorter and slightly spiky. His right eye was partly covered by his bangs. The teen's eyes were a startling shade of dark purple, they also held a bit of mirth at catching them snoozing on the job. The unnamed teen had on a black, long-sleeved shirt with red spirals on both shoulders. Around his neck was a plain silver chain. On the chain were what looked to be two diamond wedding rings judging from how one was smaller than the other. He had pants that were also black in color. His hands were covered by finger-less gloves with metal plates on the back of them and on his feet were a pair of black boots. He was also holding a backpack full of traveling equipment.

"Ya, ya. What do you need, brat?" One guard said gruffly, obviously annoyed at being caught off-guard by a what looks like a civilian.

"Well, I was just going to inform you that I was entering the village...Was I just supposed to walk through? That doesn't seem like a very good way to guard a village if people can just walk through." The teen said with a smirk.

"No, people can't just waltz straight in, you stupid brat! You have to check in with us." That same guard said with a sneer.

"Well wouldn't it make more sense for you to be awake? Sleeping on the job hardly seems professional." The teen said, purposefully angering the guard.

"Shut up, you damn brat!" The guard yelled angrily. The other guard quickly interfered before his partner started to attack the boy.

"Hey, calm down. We can't attack people that come up to the gate without good reason, and this is not one of those times. And you," the second guard said sternly to the teen. "stop antagonizing him. We've been running this shift all night. We were a little drowsy, so thank you for waking us up. Now if you could tell us your name we will let you pass."

"Sure, sure. My name is Naruto." The newly named Naruto said with humor. The first guard was just so easy to aggravate.

"No surname?" The second guard asked.

"Nope." He lied. The guard quickly wrote something down on the piece of paper in front of him.

"So why are you visiting Konoha if you don't mind me asking." The second guard said pleasantly.

"I'm here for the festival. I hear that it's one of the best in the world." Naruto said with a smile.

"Ahh, the Kyuubi Festival." The guard said. The guard was obviously looking forward to it himself if the smile on his face was any indication. "Well, I won't hold you up any longer. You can go on through."

"Thanks." Naruto said as he walked past the gates.

As Naruto walked through the village he took in the sights. Various shop owners were getting ready for the day, stand owners were heading towards they usual locations, and a few kids were outside walking their pets. To the untrained eye the village looked like the perfect picture of peace. However, Naruto knew of what lies in the shadows of every hidden village. Beyond the image the happy civilians portrayed, there were shinobi willing to do anything for the right price.

Naruto walked for a couple more hours and watched as the village came to life. Men and women, going to and from work. Children running through the streets. Konoha certainly was a large village.

'Well, I better find a hotel. The festival isn't for another couple days...this is going to be a great vacation.' Naruto thought with a smile. Despite what the guard memebers thought, Naruto was far from a civilian.

As Naruto was walking around the village he was subtly observing the people around him. He was also aware of a few stares that he was getting, primarily from the females. He noticed a group of teen-aged girls near one of the food stands. They weren't being very discreet with their staring so he decided to have a bit of fun while he asked for directions. He slowly walked up to the group, noting their reactions as he did so. They obviously didn't expect him to walk right up to them if the stares of shock were any indication.

"Excuse me, ladies. Would one of you be so kind as to point me to the nearest inn? I'm new here and am looking for a place to stay." Naruto said with a smile. The girls' face quickly turned a pinking hue before one of them answered.

"Ummm... the only inn I know of is near the red-light district, but I wouldn't recommend it." The girl said with a slight stutter.

"That will be fine. Could you point in the right direction, miss?" Naruto asked. The girl pointed to a road and told him that if he kept walking that way he wouldn't miss it. "Thank you for your time, ladies." Naruto said with a tilt of his head and a smile. The girls' face turned bright red as he walked away. That was probably the _only_ guy that they had seen in Konoha that wasn't a pervert or weirdo. Too bad he was a foreigner.

Naruto followed the directions he was given towards the red-light district. He wasn't opposed to going there, red-light districts were excellent places to acquire any information one might need. Soon enough, the hotel the girl mentioned came into view. She was right, it was hard to miss. Anyone who missed the blaring sign that said 'INN' in big bold print was brain dead. He was busy looking at the sign as he walked, so he missed the person that had walked into him. Naruto looked down and saw that the person, a girl, had fallen on her rear from the collision. She quickly gathered herself and stood with a huff.

"Watch where you're going you damned idiot!" She spat from her spot on the ground, eyes shut in minor pain. Naruto mentally rose an eyebrow at her violent reaction. She couldn't be anymore than thirteen years old. She was wearing a a large black hoodie. The hood was up so he couldn't tell what color her hair was. She was around five feet and two inches tall and had a petite build. She was also rather...ehh...developed for her age. The fact that he could slightly see her figure through her large coat gave away that much. The girl also had knee length white shorts. Like her hoodie. The girl had finally opened her eyes and got a look at the person she ran into. Male, tall, muscular, purple eyes, and...red hair? The girl was broken out of her thoughts by the boy.

"Hey, are you alright?" Naruto asked with a smile. "I'm sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going." The girl was somewhat stunned by the sound of his moderately deep voice, but she answered with the same intensity as before.

"What were you doing walking around the street looking up like an idiot!? I could've have broken something by running into you." She said angrily as she got up from the ground. That was a lie on her part, but this guy didn't need to know that.

"I told you I was sorry...besides, why were you in such a hurry that you couldn't have gotten out of the way?" Naruto said accusingly.

"I was late for training! I still am! I don't need you slowing me down any more" The girl said, now thoroughly irritated with the stranger.

'Training?' Though Naruto. He then noticed the leaf headband that was around her neck, he hadn't been able to see it from her position on the ground. "Well excuuuuse me Shorty. If your training was so important why are you late?" Naruto asked with a smirk. This girl was cute when she was mad. The girl then seemed to get a little embarressed, but didn't lose her angry look.

"B-Because I overslept. Now will you shut up so I can get to practice already!?" The girl said. "I have to go across the damn village to get there and talking to you is wasting time!" Naruto then got an idea.

"Well how about I give you a lift to your practice, Shorty." Naruto said with a smirk. The girl once again got angry, this time with the nick-name.

"MY NAME ISN'T SHORTY!" The girl yelled. Naruto then turned to walk away, taking that as a no to his offer. However, the girl hadn't finished what she had to say. Her aggravated movements had been enough to jostle her hood from its place. Once the hood fell, it revealed shoulder length crimson hair to the world. "It's Mito Uzumaki!" Naruto had looked over his shoulder as he walked as she yelled at him. However, the hair and name took a while to register with his mind. Once his mind rebooted he turned around in complete shock.

"What?"

**A/N: Okay, I know ending there might not have been the most favorable thing to do, but writing this chapter was more taxing than I thought. This is actually the first serious writing thing I've ever done, so I wanted it to be good. Any advice, grammatical or otherwise, is greatly appreciate. I'm gonna try to put some links to the pictures that inspired the looks for Naruto and Mito, I'm not promising anything thought. I also can't promise a steady update speed since school is right around the corner, but I will try to get at least _some _chapters in. I'm also going to put dates for my posts and any edits I do.**

**Example) **

**Date Posted:****August 2nd, 2013**

**Last Edit: N/A**

**Alright, this author's note has gone on long enough. See ya :)**

**-Loco Mortis**


	2. Chapter 2

Remnants of Uzushio

**A/N: Hello, Everybody! Loco Mortis back with another chapter. I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who followed, favorited, reviewed, my story. When authors say how much those things motivate them I didn't really believe them, but now I know it's true. Apologies in advance for spelling/grammatical errors, I catch most but not all. Anyways, time for the story!**

**P.S. - There'll be a longer note at the bottom. Just giving a heads up.**

* * *

**-Previously-**

**"MY NAME ISN'T SHORTY!" The girl yelled. Naruto then turned to walk away, taking that as a no to his offer. However, the girl hadn't finished what she had to say. Her aggravated movements had been enough to jostle her hood from its place. Once the hood fell, it revealed shoulder length crimson hair to the world. "It's Mito Uzumaki!" Naruto had looked over his shoulder as he walked as she yelled at him. However, the hair and name took a while to register with his mind. Once his mind rebooted he turned around in complete shock.**

**"What?"**

* * *

**Remnants of Uzushio:**

**Chapter Two**

Mito could only stare at the stranger in confusion. Was this guy retarded or something?

"What do you mean 'What?' What's not to understand! My name isn't Shorty, it's Mito Uzumaki! Are you brain-dead or something?" Mito asked hotly. First this guy bumps into her, then he keeps her from going to her training session with her team, and _then _he asks her stupid questions. 'I'm so close to just decking the guy and walking away,' Mito thought. 'and why does he seem so shocked at hearing my name. I know that's what I go for when I give my name, but I mean come on! He's practically catatonic.' Mito's were interrupted by the boy in front of her.

"Ya, ya, I heard you, your name is Mito. But did you say your surname was Uzumaki?" Naruto asked almost desperately. He didn't let that desperation leak into his question though, he had to keep calm. He had no idea of the situation surrounding Mito, or if she truly was an Uzumaki. However, the vibrant red hair gave him a sliver of hope.

"Are you deaf, too!? Yes, my surname is Uzumaki." Mito said tiredly, she'd had just about enough of this guy and his constant questions. "And isn't it rude to not give your name when someone has already done so." Naruto decided to be blunt and answer questions later. He was sure as hell going to have a bunch of questions to answer when this was over. He could feel the dozen or so Anbu that surrounded him and Mito. He was so shocked at hearing her surname that he had lost hold of his chakra for a split second. Luckily Mito hadn't noticed, but that split second was unfortunately enough to grab the attention of almost every Anbu in a fifty meter radius. It was every day that you feel Kage level chakra and have it disappear as soon as it appeared. The proverbial siren bells must be going off right about now in every Anbu' head.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. One of the few remaining members of our nearly extinct clan" Naruto said calmly. He watched as shock appeared on Mito's face.

"Clan!? The Uzumaki isn't a clan! The Old Man said I didn't have any family left. You're obviously just one of those asshole villagers trying to mess with my head!" Mito exclaimed, obviously not believing him in the slightest.

"What are you talking about? Everyone knows about the Uzumaki clan." Naruto explained. A little bit of anger had seeped into his voice at this time. "The Uzumaki clan even helped fou-" Naruto was interrupted by a group of ten Anbu that appeared around the two in a circle. The one that appeared to be the leader addressed Naruto with a monotonous voice. 'Damn...there's too many for me to get away quietly. I could get away, but if she is an Uzumaki I can't just leave her here' Naruto thought with a grimace

"The Hokage requests and audience with you, stranger. Failure to comply will be met with due force." The Anbu ordered/threatened. Mito was understandably shocked by the Anbu's demand. 'What does the Old Man want with him? Is he some kind of super dangerous missing nin? But he says he's an Uzumaki too! I need to talk with the Old Man...just what has he been hiding from me.' Mito thought with a frown.

'Jeez, this Hokage doesn't mess around...There's obviously a cover-up going on around here. If Mito doesn't even know about her own clan I doubt that the other people of this village do. The Hokage will surely know something, but I doubt he'll just hand out classified information at the drop of a hat. The nerve of it all...the Uzumaki helped found this ungrateful village.' Naruto thought with disdain. Naruto then turned to address the Anbu.

"Alright, tell him we'll be there in about ten minutes...It's the big tower in the center of the village, correct?" At the Anbu's nod he started walking in that direction. The Anbu had gone back to their posts, their chakra barely detectable. As Naruto was walking, he noticed the lack of a certain girl. "Hey! You comin' or what? I figure you need to talk the Hokage too." Naruto called back. His shout caused the girl to jump. Clearly startled out of her thoughts.

"Ya, I'm coming. And you're right, I do have some questions for the" Mito said as she followed Naruto. Mito then looked at the person beside her in greater detail than before. 'Now that I get a closer look...we do kind of look alike. And there is no one in Konoha with that color of hair...and I've seen some pretty odd hair colors.' Mito thought as she remembered her teammate, Sakura, and her stupidly pink hair. 'He also doesn't treat me like the other villagers, and he looks old enough to remember the attack if he were a citizen. Just what has the Old Man been hiding from me?' Mito ended her inner monologue with a sad frown.

'So the Old Man she was talking about is the Hokage...This just makes the situation even more concerning. I doubt the Hokage would let just anybody refer to him like that, much less an "Orphan." The Hokage better give me some answers.' Naruto thought. The two Uzumaki were quietly walking towards the Hokage tower and as they walked, Naruto noticed that they were on the receiving end of some pretty harsh glares. Civilians were looking towards them and whispering. He started to channel a minute amount of chakra to his ears to enhance his senses for a short time. With his enhanced hearing, he was able to hear the whispers as if they are being told straight his face.

"Who's that with the damned brat?"

"Are they related?"

"I hope not, that..._Thing..._doesn't deserve any family"

Naruto clenched his fists as he heard the whispers. It was obvious that the last whisper was referring to Mito. 'This behavior is completely uncalled for. I seriously doubt that she did anything to warrant it. She doesn't seem like that kind of person...she has a temper, but that doesn't give them the right to treat a child this way.' Naruto thought furiously. They continued to walk in silence as Naruto continued to listen to what the people were saying about them. One villager looked like he was going to throw something at the two, but Naruto shot him a glare that could freeze an active volcano. The man instantly backed off, looking ready to shit a brick. The other villagers saw this and the whispers began with a renewed fervor. 'Some vacation this is turning out to be...' Naruto thought tiredly.

Naruto sent a quick look at Mito, wondering if she was able to hear the whispers. Her face was mostly blank, seemingly lost in thought, but he could see the slight furrow of her brow and the pain that leaked into her eyes. 'So she _can _hear them...I wonder what causes these people to act this way.' Naruto thought, feeling sympathy for the younger girl. She had long since pulled her hood back up, hiding her hair once more. Naruto also wondered why she covered her hair, but didn't voice his confusion.

The two had finally made it to the Hokage Tower. Naruto found its design odd to say the least, but he figured that different people had different tastes. They went inside and told the woman running the front desk that they Hokage was expecting them. Well...Naruto told the woman, Mito just stayed silent when they had entered the crowded office. Naruto noted that she seemed uncomfortable being in such a crowded building, and filed that thought away for later**(1)**. They then continued up the stairs to the Hokage's office. Naruto just followed Mito since she most likely knew where to go. They went up to the top floor, clearly indicated by the sign that said 'TOP FLOOR', and walked towards the large double doors of the Hokage's office. Mito just walked right through not bothering to knock.

Inside they saw Hiruzen Sarutobi, the God of Shinobi, sitting behind his desk. Right now he was putting some finishing touches on some paper work. He stopped, though, when he saw that Mito was with the stranger who had released the kage level chakra flare. He ignored Naruto's presence for the moment and turned toward Mito with a smile.

"Hello, Mito-chan. I didn't realize that you were also coming." Hiruzen said calmly. "I thought that the Anbu told you to come alone, there are matters that need must be discussed." He finished as he looked at Naruto. Naruto then took the ensuing silence as his time to speak.

"You're damn right we need to talk. Why have you kept her heritage from her. Why doesn't Mito know about the Uzumaki clan?" Naruto said vehemently. "Who do you think who are to keep someone's heritage a secret?" Hiruzen flinched slightly, clearly not expecting such a question. He told his Anbu to bring the source of the flare, but he didn't expect Mito to be with him and was unprepared for this conversation. Hiruzen then just decided to tell the truth since he couldn't maneuver his way out of this conversation.

"I did it for her own protection. The Uzumaki were feared across the elemental nations. If word got out that there was an Uzumaki left people would try to assassinate her or worse." Hiruzen answered. That answer didn't satisfy Naruto in the slightest.

"So you don't believe your own village is capable of protecting _one _girl?" Naruto asked coldly.

"No! That's not what I-"

"But that is what you imply!" Naruto said. "And even if that weren't the case, you should have at least told Mito! Or is it that you don't trust her enough to let her keep her own secrets." Hiruzen was at a loss for words. It wasn't every day that you receive a verbal lashing, and by someone more than half your age no less. Regardless of that he couldn't rebuke the young man's point. Hiruzen slowly took a deep breath, suddenly feeling twice his age. Guilt that had festered for over a decade started to hammer away at his conscience. The young man in front of him was right and he had no viable excuse for his negligence in regards to Mito. Said girl had finally had enough of them pretending she wasn't there.

"What does he mean, Old Man...do I actually have a clan!?" Mito questioned desperately. "Why didn't you ever tell me? Was it really that you don't trust me?" Mito was deeply hurt that the Old Man kept keeping secrets from her. If she really had family left then she deserved to know, damn it! If what everything that Naruto said was true, than the two of them were family. She pushed back the tears that were starting to form. She had a family...she wasn't alone! Naruto interrupted Hiruzen before he could speak.

"Yes, you did have a clan, Mito. However, most of the Uzumaki clan were wiped out during the second shinobi world war. Three separate villages—Iwa, Kumo, and Mizu—attacked Uzushio, the village where the Uzumaki clan resided. The island was surrounded by naturally occurring whirlpools that protected the nation. Unfortunately, it didn't stop the attackers. They somehow managed to bypass the whirlpools and attack. Only a few members of the clan were able to escape being destroyed. Most had escaped to Mizu no kuni and lived the rest of their lives hidden from the rest of the world." Naruto explained. Hiruzen looked oddly at the young man in front of him.

"How do you know so that there are survivors? If they isolated themselves form the rest of the world, I doubt they would let themselves be discovered so easily. Who are you really?" Hiruzen asked. Naruto contemplated telling Hiruzen his name, silently going over the pros and cons of doing so, but he figured that Mito would eventually tell the old man eventually.

"Because my parents are survivors of Uzushio. I am Naruto Uzumaki, son of Rei and Haru Uzumaki." Naruto said, pride evident in his voice. Hiruzen had his suspicions, but Naruto's admission confirmed his theory.

"So you are a distant cousin of Mito's?" Hiruzen asked, it was more of a statement than a question. Naruto nodded and Mito's face broke into a huge smile. Hiruzen watched as Mito suddenly tackled Naruto into a hug, knocking him off the chair he had been sitting in. Naruto looked shocked at the girls actions, but he immediately saw the happy tears that were gathering in the corners of her eyes. 'I guess she was more lonely than she led others to believe...Eh, I don't see the harm in staying longer than I had planned. If I'm gonna be staying for a while I should let mom know, she'll be ecstatic to hear that he had found another Uzumaki.' Naruto thought as he put his hand on her head fondly. After a few minutes, Mito had regained her composure. She had an embarrassed blush on her face as she got off of Naruto. Hiruzen waited for the two to return to their seats before he addressing Mito.

"Mito...words cannot express how deeply sorry I am for keeping so many secrets from you. I had the best intentions in mind, but I guess it did more harm than good. Not only did I lose your trust, but I am partly the cause for your loneliness. I am not asking for forgiveness, but I hope you understand my reasons." Hiruzen said, his voice was thick with guilt and regret. Mito was silent for a few minutes, some of the longest minutes in Hiruzen's life, before replying.

"You're right, Old Man. You did lose my trust...that is something that will take a long while to gain back." Mito said as she looked anywhere but at the aged Hokage. "That's two secrets now, that I've had to find out from someone other than the person keeping them. You should have been honest from the start, it would have saved me a lot of pain." As she finished, a tear managed to escape her control. Naruto saw this and frowned...'The road to hell truly _is_ paved by good intentions.' Naruto thought solemnly. It honestly hurt him to break apart such a trusting relationship, but Mito deserved to learn the truth. Hiruzen let a tired sigh escape his lips.

"I see that now, Mito. I will try to repent for my mistakes, starting now. Mito, what I'm going to say to you is to be kept in complete secrecy from the rest of the world. This conversation has shown me that you are ready to hear this, you've been ready for a long while. I've just been too blind to see it." Hiruzen said, he then turned to Naruto. "Naruto. You're some of the only family Mito has left, so it's alright for you to stay."

"I would've stayed regardless, Sarutobi." Naruto said calmly, referring to the Hokage by his last name to show his dislike for the old man's actions in regards to Mito. He wasn't worried about being attacked for his disrespect because he knew that the Hokage wouldn't do anything to make Mito angrier at him than she already was. Hiruzen ignored the disrespect in favor of continuing what he had to say.

"Mito, it's time I told you about your parents..." Hiruzen took a pause to gauge her reaction. Mito's eyes had gone wide with shock and hope. Mito had always asked him about her parents, but he would always change the subject. "I figured that now is the best time to tell you, especially since you're just beginning your career as a kunoichi. We'll start with your mother, since she too was an Uzumaki. Her name was Kushina Uzumaki. She was the heiress of the Uzumaki clan before she was sent here to Konoha some time before Uzushio's destruction. I see so much of her in you that it's scary... She was a great woman and one hell of a kunoichi. Very few could match her on the field of battle." Hiruzen said nostalgically. Mito had a small sad smile as she heard this. It made her feel closer to her mother to hear that they were so much alike. Naruto had wide eyes after hearing that Mito's mother was the heiress of their clan. 'Why would the Uzumaki send the heiress to Konoha? Mom said the only other Uzumaki in Konoha was Mito-sama, but she was approaching the end of her life by that time and I doubt it was for a simple visit.' Slowly the reason dawned upon him. 'She was going to be made the next jinchuriki! But if Kushina is dead that means that there had to be a new container...' Naruto then looked towards Mito. 'Of course. It all makes sense now...damned ignorant villagers.'

"Your father...your father was probably one of the greatest men I had ever had the pleasure of knowing. He had skill that was almost unmatched, and his knowledge was just as extensive. He was famous for defeating entire battalions**(2)** of shinobi in a literal flash. He is hailed as the hero of the third shinobi world war," Naruto's eyes widened, finally figuring out who Hiruzen was referring to. Mito took a little longer, but the shock that she felt was several times greater than Naruto's. "Your father name was Minato Namikaze, the Yellow Flash. Our fourth Hokage." Hiruzen said. Mito was stunned into a stuttering mess.

"My...my father...was..." Mito said, clearly having a hard time comprehending what she was hearing. She was so happy to finally know who her parents were, but to hear that she was the daughter of two immensely powerful people was too much to handle. Although, that joy was accompanied by some resentment towards her father. He had sealed the Kyuubi into her after all. Hiruzen calmly walked out of his seat and towards a bookshelf and started to remove a couple of books. There were faint markings on the wood, so faint that even most ninjas would miss it if they didn't know what to look for. Naruto, however, was clearly able to tell that the markings were for a storage seal combined with a blood lock. A rather simple combination of seals that was great for keeping ones belongings safe. The blood-lock was designed to respond to the blood of the seal's creator. It was made by infusing blood into the ink that it's made with and was one of the first combination seals that every Uzumaki learns.

Hiruzen made a shallow cut on his palm and placed it onto the seal and two decently large scrolls appeared.

"These scrolls are your parents' legacy. Every technique, every theory, all their money, are in these scrolls. Paranoia is very common among shinobi and they both had the foresight to keep record of everything they had in case something happened to them. They made these scrolls when Kushina found out she was pregnant with you and they kept them updated with everything they learned afterwards." Hiruzen said as he handed both the scrolls to Mito, who took them with shaky hands. "They are yours now. Use them as you please, just do not relinquish any information of your fathers techniques. The thought of an enemy village getting their hands on the Hiraishin no jutsu makes my skin crawl."

"Thank you, Old Man. I may not agree with your actions, but your heart was in the right place." Mito said as she hugged the scrolls to her chest.

"Thank you for at least understanding my intentions Mito. You're secrets are now yours to tell if wish to do so. All of them." Hiruzen said. The hidden meaning was not missed by Mito, who nervously looked at Naruto. Naruto also understood what Hiruzen was referring to, but didn't say anything. 'Mito's secret are her's to keep. She'll tell me when she's ready.' Naruto thought.

Naruto, who had been silent up until now, decided to make a request to the Hokage. 'From what Hiruzen said, Mito had just become a genin...perhaps it wouldn't be so bad to train her. Besides, I doubt that she knows any fuinjutsu. Konoha has seemed to turn away from the art of fuinjutsu. It was almost insulting really...The only notable fuinjutsu masters of Konoha were the Fourth, Kushina, Jiraiya, and the a lesser degree Hiruzen himself.

"Hokage-sama, with your permission, I would like to train Mito in our family's art." Naruto said, actually sounding respectful for once. Mito's eyes widened at the request. 'Train me? I thought he was a traveling civilian. I can't even feel his chakra...I wonder how strong he is.' Mito wondered. If he was able to conceal his chakra completely his control must be very good. She also remembered that he hadn't been detected by Anbu until some point during their conversation earlier. The Anbu only came after she told him her name. 'He must have let his control slip...' She realized. Mito was not the smartest of people, but she had her rare moments of clarity. The Hokage considered the request for a moment before answering with a question of his own.

"What do you wish to accomplish by training Mito? You've barely known for more than a few hours." Hiruzen said. He wanted to get a feel for Naruto's intentions. Just because the two were family, doesn't eliminate the possibility of ulterior motives.

"I wish to train her in fuinjutsu, and in other fields if possible." Naruto said. "My skill in fuinjutsu quite high, even by Uzumaki standards. Mito would only benefit from such training. Fuinjutsu requires control, patience, and skill. I plan to impart these traits to her. Besides, the Uzumaki were a clan of fuinjutsu experts, she should be able to get it without much trouble." Naruto said with a smirk. Mito had a sour look on her face at the thought of more chakra control exercises, but was happy that she would be learning her family's specialty.

"Very well, Naruto-san. I will allow you to train Mito. I'm sure she will prosper under your tutelage if that chakra flare was any indication of your strength." Hiruzen then turned to Mito with a smile. "Mito, Naruto will now be your sensei along side Kaksashi." Mito returned the smile tenfold. She had two teachers! She'd be kicking ass and taking names in no time! Mito's smile had turned devious as her thoughts continued. Hiruzen grew a nervous look when he saw that smile, many past pranks had conditioned him to be wary of such looks. He made a mental note to watch his back before he took a look at the clock, it was around noon. He then adressed the two sitting in front of him.

"Mito, you should probably get back to your team. It's been about two hours since the scheduled time for your training."**(3)** Hiruzen said. "Naruto can accompany you there. Kakashi should be showing up in another hour, so that should be enough time to get acquainted with each other." Hiruzen then took a short moment to write something down on a piece of parchment. He handed the message to Mito and explained. "Give this to Kakashi when he gets there. It'll explain the situation to him. Naruto...I expect you to train her to become a powerful kunoichi."

"You don't have any reason to worry, Sarutobi. When I'm done with her, she'll be take on at least a chunin before the exams." Naruto said with confidence, both in his ability to teach and Mito's ability to learn. She was an Uzumaki after all, he was sure she could handle the training. Mito was busy wondering what her new sensei would teach her.

After Mito took the note they she started heading to where her team trains, Naruto following beside her. They had traveled to a part of the village where the sea of buildings were starting to thin. There were also more ninja visible, jumping from place to place by rooftop. Naruto assumed that this part of Konoha was inhabited mostly by the ninja of the village. Naruto also saw that Mito was only receiving one or two glares from the various shinobi. 'At least the _soldiers_ of the village aren't stupid_._' Naruto thought as he sighed. Mito and Naruto soon arrived to the training ground. Naruto saw two people waiting for them, both around the same age a Mito. One had pink hair, green eyes, a red dress with white edges, and blue ninja sandals. She was currently pacing angrily, obviously waiting for this "Kakashi" to show up. The second person had black hair that was cut in a way that spikes were protruding from the back of his head, two bangs also framed his face. He had black eyes and his face seemed to be set in a permanent frown. He was wearing a high-collared dark blue shirt, simple white shorts, and blue ninja sandals. Mito had a frown at seeing her teammates, but greeted them anyway.

"Hey, Sakura. Hey, Sasuke." Mito said, lacking the usual exuberance she normally had. 'Hm, she doesn't seem to like her teammates very much.' Naruto thought. Sakura turned her head sharply towards the noise. When she saw Mito she let her anger out on her.

"Mito, you moron! Where the heck have you been!?" Sakura spat angrily**(4)**. Mito sighed at her behavior, but Naruto had a frown on his face. "We were supposed to be here at ten o'clock. It's already noon! And where the hell is Kakashi!" Sakura finished her tirade. Naruto then decided to make his presence known.

"The reason Mito is late is because of me. She and I had been called by the Hokage. Now if you'll excuse us, we've got some training to do. Come on, Mito, I need to know what skills you have before we begin." Naruto said as he motioned Mito to another part of the large field. Sasuke, however, had an angry look on his face.

"Wait, who are you and what do you mean training? Kakashi is our sensei." Sasuke said in suspicion. Naruto stopped walking, but didn't turn to face Sasuke.

"You're mistaken, I'm not training all of you. I'm only training Mito." Naruto said calmly. "Kakashi will be training the three of you, but afterwards Mito will be training with me." Sasuke looked livid at this.

"What makes that loser so special that she gets special training!" Sasuke yelled as he stood up angrily.

"As heiress to the Uzumaki clan, I have to make sure she is well versed in many techniques." Sasuke still looked indignant. He was the last of the Uchiha clan, but he wasn't being offered any special training.

"Clan!? The Uzumaki aren't a clan, and why would the Hokage appoint someone to train that loser?" Sasuke said. In his mind he figured he needed more training than Mito. He wanted to get as strong as possible to avenge his clan. Naruto turned around to look at Sasuke, a smirk on his face.

"Who am I? I'm Naruto Uzumaki, a distant cousin of Mito's and the Uzumaki were a clan. One that carried more honor and prestige than your little clan of pink-eyed monkeys." Naruto said, purposefully goading the prideful Uchiha by acting arrogantly. Naruto understood that pride in one's family was one thing, but arrogance was completely different. Being arrogant on the battlefield would only get you, and your squad, killed. Naruto just liked to play the part to enrage his enemies, and Sasuke had taken the bait.

"Take that back! Your pathetic clan couldn't possibly measure up to the Uchiha clan—one of the founder of Konoha!" Sasuke said angrily. Naruto could only shake his head at the boys ignorance. It seems that Konoha has forgotten the Uzumaki clan completely.

"The Uzumaki clan were also one of the clans that helped found Konoha. In fact, the first Hokage's wife was an Uzumaki. Their marriage helped solidify the alliance between our two villages. Unfortunately, the Uzumaki were wiped out for the most part during the second shinobi world war." Lectured Naruto. Sasuke had a smug look on his face at hearing that.

"See? Your clan isn't so great! They must have been squashed like the bugs they were." Sasuke was unaware of the danger he was putting himself into. Naruto's didn't have a lot of things that set him off. It was almost impossible to anger him. The only things that made him angry were rapists, child abusers, and people who speak ill of the dead. Especially if the dead in question were his family. Naruto let control of his killing intent go and directed it all at Sasuke.

"Listen, you impudent shit! My clan was destroyed in a joint effort of three entire hidden villages...the attack lasted for weeks. Uzushio held strong and had managed to slay over two thousand soldiers before succumbing to exhaustion, and even _then_ their attempted genocide had failed. Your pathetic clan of thieves were slaughtered by _one _man in a single night while there are numerous Uzumaki still alive today, wandering the elemental nations." Naruto seethed. Sasuke had been sent sprawling on his back by the killing intent and was having a tough time breathing. Before situation could escalate any further a plume of smoke appeared in the field.

The smoke dissipated, revealing none other than Kakashi Hatake. He was wearing a standard jounin outfit and had his forehead protector slanted over his left eye. He was reading a small book titled "Icha Icha".

"That's quite enough, stranger. I would appreciate it if you wouldn't harass my students." Kakashi said in an aloof manner. Naruto looked slightly apologetic, but not by much.

"Sorry, but your genin has a big mouth. He should learn not to put his foor in it." Naruto said, shooting a glare at Sasuke as he got off the ground.

"Noted. Now, what are you doing here. Civilians aren't permitted to enter training grounds." Kakashi said as he sized Naruto up. 'Hm, I can only sense a small amount of chakra in him—enough for a civilian to live on, but he could easily be hiding it.' Kakashi thought. He was broken out of his thought by his red-haired student.

"Kakashi-sensei, the old man told me to give this to you." Mito said as she handed him the note from the Hokage. As Kakashi read the note, his visible eye widen a bit. He looked towards Naruto, silently asking for confirmation. Naruto merely nodded his head. Kakashi folded up the note, pocketed it, and turned to his other two genin.

"Alright, you two. Today the two of us will be doing some training." Kakashi then turned towards Naruto once more. "I'll let you train Mito for today as I've already got a general feel for what she knows. You take today to test her, and plan a training schedule." Kakashi motioned Sakura and Sasuke to follow him to another part of the clearing. Naruto then turned to Mito, whose eyes were shining with excitement.

"What are we going to learn first, Naruto-kun?" Mito asked with a smile. Naruto walked into the clearing and got into a lose stance. Feet shoulder length apart, one leg in front of the other, one arm tucked against his side, and one arm out.

"We'll first be having a spar so I know where to start your training. We'll be starting with taijutsu. I'll only be defending so don't hold anything back." Naruto said with an easy-going smile.

**A/N: First fight sequence. Please be gentle (_)**

"Alright! Here I come!" Mito said as she charged at Naruto.

Mito ran towards Naruto and tried a right-punch to Naruto's face. Naruto ducked the punch and sidestepped to the left. She had over extended herself and was left a little unbalanced which exposed her unprotected side. Mito then tried to continue with her momentum and did a reverse roundhouse kick, trying to catch Naruto with the back of her heel. Naruto simply blocked the kick with his forearm and pushed her forward, watching as she rolled to avoid falling. 'She's pretty decent for a genin, but there's always room for improvement. Taijutsu probably isn't her strong suit anyway. Most likely a ninjutsu-type considering her...condition. That just means that control is an absolute must.' Naruto thought. He was slightly impressed. That kick would have gotten most chunin. 'She seems to just react to what ever situation she's put into...Good reaction time, decent form. She's a bit impulsive though. Training in fuinjutsu will help with that though as you need lots of patience or else the seal would literally blow up in your face.' While he was creating a mental list of things to teach Mito, Naruto was dodging and evading all of Mito's attacks and he would push her over if left herself too open. Naruto blocked the last punch and Mito quickly leapt back.

Mito stopped a couple of feet away from her new sensei and frowned. She had seen the distant look in her eyes as she attacked. He wasn't even completely paying attention. She was slowly circle him, looking for an opening. Once she was behind him and to the side, she charged once more. This time she went for a sweep kick that Naruto jump over. Following this she jumped and performed another roundhouse, using the momentum from the sweep to strengthen her kick. This actually surprised him, it would take a lot of strength and coordination to go from a low sweep kick to a jump kick like that. He was so surprised that he was forced to actually block it. He didn't give an inch, but there was a dull ache in his arms. 'Damn! That was without chakra too! I was right, she's got loads of potential. Well I think I've seen enough of her taijutsu.' Naruto then threw his arm forward, making Mito jump back a few feet. 'Looks like she favors kicks over punches.' Naruto thought. He'll have to ask his mother to train her

"That wasn't bad Mito," Naruto said with a genuine smile. "You showed some moves that would have gotten even some experienced chunin." Mito had the decency to blush as the praise. She wasn't used to being praised for her skills. In the academy, she was always made fun of for her low scores. In recent years, the academy had been focusing more and more on academics, rather than practical skills. Mito had never been one for books and such, she excelled in the practical stuff. Her test grades were near to bottom while her practical scores were near the top of their class. The reason she had failed the times before were because of the clone jutsu, she had too much chakra to do that worthless technique. 'I don't even know why they would teach kids that technique. It's so easy to tell the difference. It doesn't make any noise and can't interact with the surrounding. It's practical use is pretty much zero.' Mito thought bitterly. She had failed two times because of her massive chakra reserves. Naruto wasn't done speaking however.

"Maybe if you were taller, you would have been able to kick me in the head...Shorty." Naruto said while laughing, knowing it would anger the young girl. She wasn't actually short, she was actually pretty tall for her age. Naruto just loved to make her mad. Sure enough, Mito grew angry. She didn't like how Naruto kept making fun of her height. She was still growing, damn it!

"I'M NOT SHORT!" Mito yelled. She then made the hand sign for her favorite technique. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Mito exclaimed as she made twenty clones. 'So she already knows the shadow clone jutsu.' Naruto thought happily, this would save them a good amount of time.

"Oh, so now you have an army of midgets? That's nice...I wonder how many of you it takes to screw in a lightbulb. You'd probably have to make _at least_ that amount." Naruto said with a smirk. She was so easy to rile up.

"Screw you!" Mito yelled as her clones charged the grinning redhead.

"And now the fun begins." Naruto said as he got back into his stance. These were clones, so he could afford to let loose a little. Mito was also just going to let her clones do the work so he didn't have to worry about hurting her.

The first clone came from above, trying to stomp on his head. He side stepped and hooked his arm under the clone's armpit and around the opposite side of its neck. He then kicked the back of the clone's legs, kneeled down, and smashed the clone's neck against his knee. It was brutal, yet effective. That clone immediately dispelled. The next clone came running from behind him intent on punching him in the back of the head. Naruto, from his kneeling position, swept the leg he used to dispel the previous clone and tripped the current one. From there he got into a kneeling position again,turned, and smashed his elbow into the clone in a quick elbow drop. Using that arm as a spring Naruto quickly got up and grabbed the leg of a clone who tried to do a side kick. Using his hold on that leg, Naruto spun around and used that clone as a club to hit another clone. Both clones dispelled and Naruto turned to the remaining group.

Sixteen clones remained and Naruto decided to go on the offensive. Naruto charged towards one clone who punched once he got too close. Slapping the punch to the side, Naruto delivered a devastating knee to the clones kidney, thus dispelling it. Naruto then caught another clone trying to sneak up on him from the side. He turned and redirected the punch that was thrown, while at the same time grabbing the extended arm. Naruto pulled the clone in and elbowed it square in the face. Not waiting for it to dispel, Naruto rushed towards a group of four clones and punched the first one before it could react. Naruto then avoided a chop to the back of his head back stepping backwards, letting the arm harmlessly go over his shoulder. Naruto grabbed the arm, slid his left leg back, and flipped that clone over his right should and into two others, dispelling the three of them.

The remaining ten clones decided to just swarm the redheaded behemoth. Naruto wanted to finish on a flashy note, so he gathered his special chakra into his fists and added his lightning chakra. Naruto waited until all ten of the clones were within range before slamming both fists into the ground. On impact with the ground, the lightning chakra exploded outwards, creating a dome of lightning that was several feet in diameter. The attack dispelled the clones and produced a cloud of dust that slowly dissipated, showing Naruto who didn't even look out of breath. Mito was looking at her sensei in awe. She knew she was only a genin, but Naruto had taken her clones down with such shocking efficiency. It took Naruto less than ten minutes to deal with her clones. And while there weren't that many to begin with, she knew that he was still holding back tremendously. 'Just how strong is he!?' Mito thought with disbelief. That last attack was also astonishing, she had never seen or heard of anyone controling lightning in such a way. Naruto took a deep, calming breath before walking towards the frozen girl.

"That was very good, Mito. I now have a basic understanding of your skills." Naruto said. "However, I do have one question. Do you prefer to use taijutsu or ninjutsu?"

"Um, I don't really have as many jutsu as I'd like. The Shadow Clone Jutsu is actually my first jutsu other than the Replacement and Transformation Technique." Mito said, feeling slightly self-conscience about the number of techniques she knew. "I prefer ninjutsu, but until I learn more I decided to work on my taijutsu." Naruto noticed her insecurities and quelled her fears.

"That's fine, Mito." Naruto assured. He then motioned for them to sit underneath a nearby tree. Naruto quietly sat on the ground and Mito took the spot right next to him. "I'm not really one for ninjutsu anyway. I only know a couple besides the basic two. I'm sure that Kakashi can teach you a couple jutsu." Naruto said with a smile. Mito then asked a question about Naruto's final technique.

"Was that lightning attack one of your jutsu? Can you teach it to me!?" Mito said, hope and anticipation evident in her eyes. Naruto was amused by her request, but shook his head negatively.

"I'm sorry Mito, but what I did wasn't a technique that can be learned." Naruto explained. "All I did was add my affinity to an ability that I have." As he mentioned his ability he created a string that rose up and plucked a leave off the treat, bringing it down into Naruto's hand. "My ability is unique to me and me alone. My chakra is able to take on a solid form. It can be molded into anything my mind conjures up." Mito was confused by the explanation.

"So it's a bloodline? Does that mean I'll unlock it too!?" Mito looked absolutely giddy at the thought of having such an ability. Naruto only shook his head.

"No, Mito, it's not a bloodline. Technically it is, but not everybody in the Uzumaki clan unlocks an ability and no two Uzumaki's have the same power." Mito looked crestfallen at the news. She was still hopeful, though, that she had the possibility of unlocking her own unique ability.

"So, Naruto-kun, how would you rate my skills?" Mito asked. She was eager to get all the discussion out of the way and get straight to the training.

"Well, your taijutsu is mid to high genin, your potential for ninjutsu is very high, and your reaction time is great." Naruto explained. "With that being said, you're too impulsive, you telegraph your moves a bit, and you anger too easily, Shorty!" Naruto said with a smirk. He then had to duck to avoid a punch. "See? But overall you're about on par with a low chunin"

"Well how is my temper supposed to get better if you're constantly annoying me." Mito said as she tried to calmed herself down.

"It's simple really," Naruto said. "Just work on keeping your cool during a battle. You can be as temperamental as you want when your squad isn't threatened by death." Naruto said seriously.

"Fine, I get it. So what am I going to be learning first, Naruto-sensei?" Mito asked, practically burning with anticipation. Naruto had a fond smile on his face as he watched Mito exude excitement.

"Calm down, Mito. There's still a couple more things we need to go over before we start the practical part of my training." Naruto said. Mito's excitement quickly went out the proverbial window.

"Ugh, fine. What do you want to talk about?" Mito said tiredly. Naruto could only smile as he looked Mito straight in the eye.

"What do you know about fuinjutsu?"

**A:N/ Hey, guys! Just wanted to say thanks for takin' the time to read this. Hopefully the fight scene was satisfactory :) A quick change that I decided to make to the story. I'm gonna start using the honorifics. Personally I find them to be a great way to express how a person looks towards another. I added them in this chapter, but I didn't add them to the previous one because there isn't a whole lot of dialogue to add it to. I also tried to make the taijutsu as realistic as possible. I had recently taken some karate classes, so some of the moves you see might be influenced by some of the moves that I learn or see. Also, Naruto was using the bare minimum during the spar, so don't worry. I'll be giving him his own taijutsu skill set. I'm also thinking about whether or not Naruto will learn how to open the gates. I think it would be cool, let me know what you guys think :) There's going to be some more character development in the next chapter. Hopefully it will expand on Mito's character as well as her relationship with Naruto.**

**Now I'm going to address the notes that are in the chapter.**

**(1) - I figured that, in my story, the treatment that Mito had received as a child left some trauma. She is uncomfortable being in large enclosed areas with large amounts of people.**

**(2) Wikipedia says that a battalion is composed of up to 300-1000 soldiers**

**(3)Mito had told Hiruzen about her training schedules after team placements. she was excited to finally be a ninja and wanted to tell her grandfather figure about how her training is going**

**(4)Any bashing that I might do will not be without reason. Sakura will get better as the story progresses. Sasuke, though...I will leave you guessing on that. It could go either way, honestly...**

**Date Posted: Aug. 8 2013**

**Last Edit: n/a**

**-Loco Mortis**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hello guys welcome back to another chapter. This chapter is a bit smaller than the other two, mostly because this chapter is mostly to develop Naruto and Mito's relationship. Hopefully it seems realistic and I didn't rush anything. Now, I would like to respond to a review. First of all, I appreciate the constructive criticism and your worries are understandable :) Let me explain my reasoning:**

**-The chunin exams are bi-annual (twice every year in case anyone is wondering) and they attract attention from many different lords and important people across the elemental nations (at least in this story they do). I'm sure that people would be aware of when the next chunin exams would be if that were the case.**

**-Naruto _will_ be able to open the gates. However, I decided-_before_ I posted the second chapter-that if I gave Naruto the ability that he would learn to do so _after_ the chunin exams directly from Gai. I'm not going to be any more specific than that.  
**

**-While I do use a _couple_ karate moves, that will only be for Naruto. I _will_ be sticking to everyone's canon fighting style as much as I can (It's hard to describe a hand-to-hand fight sometimes). And if Mito seemed like she was using karate stuff...she wasn't. The canon Naruto was mostly just a brawler. I gave Mito that trait, but she is _way_ more skilled and can react better than canon Naruto could.**

**-I'm also assuming that the person reading this knows who they are. Regarding the last thing in your review...I had planned to already. I have a move list already planned out :) I will put the description for any moves that appear in each chapter.**

**Please note that I won't always respond to reviews like this. I think that doing so is a tad unprofessional. I will respond to as many reviews as I can through PMs most of the time. Again, thanks for the reviews :)**

* * *

**-Previously-**

**"Fine, I get it. So what am I going to be learning first, Naruto-sensei?" Mito asked, practically burning with anticipation. Naruto had a fond smile on his face as he watched Mito exude excitement.**

**"Calm down, Mito. There's still a couple more things we need to go over before we start the practical part of my training." Naruto said. Mito's excitement quickly went out the proverbial window.**

**"Ugh, fine. What do you want to talk about?" Mito said tiredly. Naruto could only smile as he looked Mito straight in the eye.**

**"What do you know about fuinjutsu?"**

* * *

**Remnants of Uzushio:**

**Chapter 3**

"Fuinjutsu?" Mito asked in confusion. "I don't know that much about it. I'm sure the academy gave a description of it, but...I didn't really pay attention most of the time." She finished sheepishly. Naruto could only sigh. An Uzumaki that didn't know a thing about fuinjutsu...he wasn't sure who to blame more for such a travesty! Sarutobi, the academy for only describing it, or Mito for her short attention span. 'Oh, well. The initial theory of fuinjutsu isn't that extensive. Most of it is just practical stuff, experimenting until something works. Shadow Clones will make the time needed to learn fuinjutsu much shorter and eliminate the risks of working with certain seals.' Naruto thought.

"Fuinjutsu, the art of sealing, is a skill that made the Uzumaki such a feared clan in the past. Through the use of various kanji and symbols, written in chakra-infused ink, shinobi are able to create a variety of seals. Similar to hand signs, the kanji and symbols mold the chakra in the ink to produce the desired effect. The effect of each seal is largely dependent by the symbols and kanji used. For example, a storage scroll," Naruto said as he pulled a scroll out of one of his pockets. "is made using a circle-type symbol and once you seal the item inside the scroll a kanji of the item appears in the center of the circle. The part that actually seals the item inside the scroll is an extremely basic space-time seal. It's creator's name is unknown, but the way it works is simple. It takes the chakra used to make it and creates a "pocket" where the item is stored." Lectured Naruto. Naruto looked beside him and saw that Mito was staring at him, a blank look on her face. Naruto sighed, 'I guess, she couldn't follow most of it.' "Mito!" Naruto said, getting her attention as she jumped in shock.

"Huh!? What, is it over?" Mito said. Naruto had deadpan look on his face.

"Were you paying attention?"

"Um, chakra-ink...kanji..." Mito said as she tried to remember what Naruto was saying. Naruto shook his head as he decided to dumb it down.

"Alright, I'm gonna make it as simple as I can. Fuinjutsu uses symbols and kanji to make different effects, different kanji and symbols produce different results." Naruto said. Mito then got irritated.

"Why didn't you say that in the first place!" Mito yelled. "I thought I'd gotten rid of boring-ass lectures once I got my headband, but now I have to listen to you drone on and on." She said as she crossed her arms. Naruto, however, wasn't amused.

"The explanation is soley for your benefit. Some seals can be extremely dangerous to work with, and if you're not careful you could be severely injured. I figured the more detailed I make it the easier it would be to understand, but it seems my efforts were wasted." Naruto said as he looked away, a smirk etched onto his face. 'Three...two...one...'

"ARE YOU CALLING ME STUPID!?" Mito yelled, thoroughly angered. 'Boom.' Naruto thought, holding back a chuckle.

"Me? Why I would never..." Naruto said with a shit-eating grin**(1). **Mito's face was starting to look as red as their hair, and Naruto could've sworn he saw steam shooting out of her ears. 'Too easy.' He thought. Mito gave a yell of frustration at his smug answer and started to chase Naruto around the field.

Naruto had realized that today must have been very stressful for Mito, and since there wouldn't be any more training today there were be nothing to keep her mind off of today's events. He was determined to keep her mind off the subjects they discussed with the Hokage until they were in a more peaceful setting. Mito had eventually stopped chasing him, her breathing slightly shallow. He made a note to run her through some endurance training. She was still shooting him dirty looks every now and then, but she had calmed down for the most part.

"You're a jerk." She muttered. Naruto just threw a wry grin.

"Oh come on. It's all in good fun." He replied. The last few hours had been stressful for him as well. He was just now starting to relax again. 'I didn't believe her at first, but Kaa-san was right. Politics are a bitch.' Naruto thought with a frown which Mito noticed.

"Something on your mind." She said curiously. Naruto glanced in her direction, but didn't say anything for a couple seconds.

"We'll start your other training tomorrow." Naruto said.

"Why?" Mito asked

"We need to talk. Is there a place where we nobody goes to?"

"Uh, there's a small forest near the Hokage Monument. No one really goes there." Mito said, curious as to what Naruto wanted to talk about.

"That'll work." Naruto said. He then looked towards the monument and determined how much chakra it would talk to shunshin there. 'Hm, it's not _that _far away.' Naruto thought sarcastically, this shunshin would take a decent amount of chakra. Naruto then put a hand on Mito's shoulder and the two vanished in a plume of smoke.

Before Mito knew what was going on, they were on at the base of the forest she spoke of. She gave Naruto an eager look.

"Will I be learning that?" She asked hopefully.

"Of course, it's a convenient skill to have. It gets you from point A to B quickly. Although the amount of chakra used depends on the distance between the two points." Naruto said. Naruto and Mito then walked towards the edge of the forest. Naruto took a seat underneath one of the large trees and Mito sat next to him like she did in the training ground.

"So what did you want to talk about." Mito asked curiously. Naruto was trying to think of ways to ease into the topic he had in mind, but was drawing a blank. He then decided to just be straightforward.

"I'm just curious about how you're handling everything that you learned today." Naruto said. Naruto was concerned for Mito. She had just learned that she had some family left and she learned that the person who sealed the Kyuubi into her was her own father. 'She doesn't know that I know about the Kyuubi, but I'm sure she'll tell me eventually.' Naruto thought confidently. Mito suddenly frowned pulled her kneese to her chest. Her hood shadowing her face slightly.

"I'm...I'm still kinda stunned, ya' know?" Mito said as she hugged her knees. "It's a lot to take in. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to find that I have family left. It's just...I just wish that the old man told me sooner." Mito was still upset that the Hokage had kept secrets from her for her entire life. Naruto sighed before answering.

"I don't really agree with what he did, but his intentions were in the right place." Naruto said as he looked past the edge of the mountain and at the bustling village.

"Still, I'm just glad that I met you." Mito said with a smile as she looked at Naruto. Naruto returned the smile before replying.

"Yeah, it's great to meet another of the clan." Naruto said. "For the longest time I thought that I wouldn't meet any other Uzumaki's."

"What about your parents? They were both Uzumaki too, right?"

"Yeah, both were pure-blooded Uzumaki."

"...What was it like?" Mito asked quietly.

"What was what like?" Naruto asked, not fully understanding the question.

"...Growing up with parents." Mito clarified in the same voice. Realization dawned on Naruto then. A fond smile grew on his face as he thought of his parents.

"It was okay, I guess." Naruto said. "We had our ups and downs, and we were mostly in hiding while I was growing up."

"Why was that?"

"Like I told the Hokage, most of the Uzumaki clan had fled to Kiri. That's where I was born. When I was ten, the Mizukage started the bloodline purges. The Mizukage had everyone in Kiri believe that bloodlines depicted tainted blood and that the clans were monsters." Mito clenched her hands at that. She'd been dealing with that sort of treatment for her entire life so she knew how hard it must have been for those people. "My parents had been training me to defend myself since I was five. Once the purges started ten years later, my parents decided that we would travel the elemental nations like our ancestors. They did this so I would get more experience, and so that I could learn from anyone willing to teach."

"What was it like traveling the elemental nations." Mito said, enthralled by his tale.

"A curious one aren't we?" Naruto asked rhetorically. Mito slapped him on the arm in response to his goading. "Jeez, no need to be so violent. It's just an observation." Naruto said as he pretended to rub his arm in pain. Mito just gave him a sour look.

"Keep telling the story!" Mito said childishly.

"Fine." Naruto took a pause to gather his thoughts. "Traveling around was...difficult. Especially for a couple who was taking care of a toddler. Even if that toddler was able to defeat a chunin. We saw many places like the waterfalls surrounding Takigakure, the Kumo mountain ranges, and the deserts in Kaze no kuni. The desert was not fun, by the way. Sandstorms are a bitch to travel through." Naruto said as he remembered the one irritating night he and his parents had been caught in a sandstorm.

"Your parents trained you so well you were able to defeat chunin when you were five!?" Mito asked awed at both his ability and his parents' skills in teaching. 'If he's even half the sensei they were then I'll be kicking ass in no time!' Mito thought, absolutely giddy.

"Yeah, they were great teachers, and even greater parents." Naruto missed his father, and he hadn't seen his mother since they parted a month ago. 'That reminds me, I need to get in touch with Kaa-san. If I send a message today by summon, she'll be here some time this month.' Naruto thought.

"What were your parents like?" Mito inquired.

"They were amazing...My mother, Rei Uzumaki, is a very caring and gentle person. Although, you wouldn't be able to tell by meeting her. That was a side of her that only family and close friends saw, but don't worry. I'm sure that she'll absolutely love you. After all, she always wanted a daughter... and you both have huge tempers." Naruto said with a grin.

"Shut up!" Mito shouted. "I know I have a temper, you don't have to constantly remind me!" Mito then took a couple breaths to calm herself down, and once she had done so she resumed her questioning. "What about your father? What was he like?"

"My father...my father was a great man. He was very laid back and tended to be sarcastic at time, something that greatly annoyed my mother. He also loved to mess with people. As a shinobi he was very taijutsu orientated, so he influenced my fighting style the most. He helped me create the style that I use now." Naruto said. He had a sad look on his face as he recounted all the moments he had when his family was whole. Mito looked alarmed at the sadness on his face.

"Um...did I say something to upset you?" Mito asked, hoping that she didn't say something stupid. Naruto just waved off her concerns.

"No...you didn't do anything. I just miss him is all." Naruto said.

"Did something happen to him?" Mito hoped that by talking about it, he wouldn't be as sad. Naruto kept his sad look on his face.

"Yeah, he died about a year ago." Mito gasped in shock. She felt horrible for making him remember his father's death. As if reading her mind Naruto said, "Don't worry Mito, you didn't do anything wrong...He...he died because of an illness. We were traveling through Kaminari no kuni when he caught it. He had been fine at first, we didn't even know he was sick until it was too late—about two months later. The disease was native to Kaminari no kuni and it was said that one in every five hundred people contract the disease. Due to its rarity, the locals were unable to make a vaccine for it since the patients died before they could run tests. The only reason my father so long without showing symptoms is because Uzumaki have a greater immune system. That's one of the reason we are able to live well into our hundreds." Naruto said. The pain of losing his father was still _very _fresh in his mind.

"I'm sorry." Mito whispered. Naruto shot her a dry look.

"For what? You didn't do anything, so stop worrying about it!" Naruto said with a sigh. "But thanks for listening...it's nice to talk to someone about this kind of thing." Naruto felt odd telling his problems to someone younger than him, but didn't deny that it _did _help. Mito smiled, the earlier mood forgotten.

"No problem! We Uzumaki have got to stick together after all!" Mito said enthusiastically. Naruto gave a similar grin in kind.

"Damn right!" They then fell into silence, enjoying the tranquility of the nature surrounding them. Naruto, however, had a slight frown on his face.

"Mito...I just realized something." Naruto said.

"What?"

"Even though we're family, we barely know each other...like hobbies, interests, goals. That kind of stuff." Naruto said.

"Oh, I know how to fix that!" Mito said and she turned to face Naruto completely. Naruto then gave Mito an interested look.

"What do you have in mind?" Naruto asked curiously.

"We'll do something similar to what Kakashi-sensei did when my team met him. We tell each other our likes, dislikes, dreams, and hobbies. Stuff like that!" Mito said excitedly.

"Well why don't you go first, Mito." Naruto said as he gestured for her to start.

"Okay. My name is Mito Uzumaki," Naruto snorted as she needlessly stated her name. "my likes are ramen, gardening, and my family. My dislikes are the villagers, arrogance, bigots, rapists, and sexists. My dream is the be the first greatest Hokage in the history of the leaf. Even greater than my father. My hobbies are gardening, training, and pulling pranks on the stupider villagers." Mito kept the same enthusiasm in her voice the entire time she was talking. Naruto found it unusual that someone as hyper as Mito had an interest in gardening. 'Maybe it won't be _that hard_ to teach her patience.' Naruto thought happily. "Okay, you're turn." Mito said. She was excited to learn more about her family member.

"Well, _I'm_ Uzumaki Naruto." He was mocking the way Mito had said her name when it was her turn. She didn't find it funny if the scowl was any indication. "My likes are fuinjutsu, taijutsu, learning new taijutsu moves, training, and my family. I also like to meditate and coming up with new seals." Naruto then paused and his eyes gained a determination that Mito had never seen before. "My dream for the future, is to one day see the Uzumaki clan rise back to its former glory." Naruto had stated his dream with such passion, such fervor, that Mito had no doubt that he would succeed. She also wanted to the her clan be resurrected, but her focus right now was on becoming Hokage. She was shaken from her thoughts when Naruto continued. "My other dream, is to bring peace to the shinobi world." This completely stumped Mito.

"Peace?" She asked. "Is that even possible in our world, Naruto-kun?" Mito had heard many stories about the cruelties of the shinobi world. She thought that the idea of piece was a little farfetched. Naruto wasn't deterred by her doubt.

"I believe it _is_ possible, Mito. There's so much grief and death that surrounds our world that could easily be avoided. If everyone could just put aside their differences and petty grudges, then they could see that each person is no different than the last. If everyone could understand that, there wouldn't so much conflict. My mother believes in this dream and I am determined to make it a reality in honor of my father, who is unable to see it. I want to be able to meet him in the afterlife and tell him that I made his dream a reality." Naruto said. Mito was actually tearing up a bit after hearing his speech. Any doubts about his dream were swept away by his inspiring words. She wanted to help him achieve his dream.

"And I'll help you reach your dream, Naruto-kun." Mito said with a grin that could light the night sky. Naruto was happy that he could convince someone that peace wasn't out of reach. 'Now I just have to convince the rest of the world.' Naruto thought tiredly. He looked at Mito and couldn't help smiling back. 'One step at a time, I suppose.'

"Thank you, Mito-chan. I'm sure you'll be a great help." Naruto said as he fondly put his hand on her head. "I'll also help you with your dream. When I'm through with you, you'll so close to being Hokage that you'll be able to taste that hat." He finished with a grin.

The two stayed on the mountain, Naruto telling tales of his travels. Soon enough, the sun started to set and they decided to get some dinner before parting ways. Mito suggested they go to a ramen stand that she frequented and Naruto agreed. He hadn't had ramen in a while so he was looking forwards to indulging in one of his favorite foods.

The stand was located on the main road of the village so Naruto just shunshined both him and Mito into the middle of the street. From there, the two walked to where the stand was located. Eventually, Naruto saw the small stand that had a sign that said "Ichiraku Ramen." The from the outside the stand looked quite plain, but Naruto's opinion quickly changed once they sat down in front of the counter. The stand had a homey feel to it and the only employees behind the counter were a middle-aged man and what looked to be his daughter. The girl looked to be about Naruto's age, give or take a few years, and had long brown hair and equally colored eyes. She was wearing a white robe and her hair was held back by the bandana that she wore. Her name was Ayame Ichiraku, daughter of Teuchi Ichiraku.

The waitress visible brightened when she saw Mito walk in and take a seat, she also noticed the boy that she was with sit down on the adjacent stool. She wondered who he was and why he was with Mito. 'Maybe they're on a date!' She thought with a giggle. 'He's a bit older than her, but who cares?'

"Hello, Mito-chan. Who's you're friend? Is he your boyfriend?" Ayame asked with a grin. Mito's face immediately got as red as her hair. Naruto, however, gained a mischievous look on his face. 'This should be fun...' He thought deviously. He then extended his hand towards the waitress.

"Hello, miss. My name is Naruto, and I wouldn't say she's my girlfriend just yet. This is our first date after all." Naruto said with a charming smile. Mito turned to Naruto in shock, her face reddening even further. 'What the hell is he doing!?' Mito thought furiously. Ayame turned her attention to Naruto and shook the offered hand.

"Nice to meet you, Naruto-san. My name is Ayame Ichiraku. And I think it's great that Mito-chan is on a date, you look like a decent guy." Ayame then leaned in and whispered in his ear. "Also, great move coming here first. She loves this place." Naruto was having a difficult time not breaking out laughing.

"Really? Lucky pick, I guess." Naruto said with a grin. Ayame looked ready to speak again, but Mito had finally had enough.

"HE IS NOT MY DATE!" She yelled. She still had a blush on her face as she spoke to Ayame. "This is my idiot sensei, Ayame-nee! He's not my boyfriend!" She then turned to Naruto furiously. "And _you!_ What the hell was that!? Do you know how embarrassing that was!" Mito yelled as she smacked him harshly upside the head. At that point, Naruto finally lost control of his laughter.

"HAHAHA! You should have seen your face, Mito-chan!" Naruto said through his laughter. "I didn't think that your face could be redder than your hair!" Mito's expression grew even angrier as the laughing continued. Ayame was just watching the two interact, a confused look on her face.

"So you two aren't on a date?" Ayame asked, clearly disappointed. Naruto's laughter had died down enough so that he could answer.

"Hehehe...no, we're not. I am her new sensei." Naruto said. Ayame was still confused.

"But I thought Mito-chan already had a sensei." Ayame said as she looked at the mentioned girl.

"She does, but I asked the Hokage if I could train her as well and he agreed." Naruto said. The answer was good enough for Ayame who then took their order.

"Oh, okay. So, what will you two have?" Ayame said as she took out took out a pen and paper. Mito answered first.

"I'll take the usual!" Mito said with a big smile and Ayame wrote it down.

"Okay, five bowls of miso ramen." She said as she writes, she then turned to Naruto. "And what will you have?" Naruto took a few seconds to look at a menu they had that listed all the flavors they had.

"I'll have two bowls of beef ramen." Ayame wrote down his order and took both orders to her father, who was in the back cooking. Naruto then asked what was on his mind.

"'Ayame-nee'?" Naruto questioned Mito, who look startled by the question. Her face then turned into a happy smile.

"Ya! I came here all the time when I was younger. Eventually I came to think of them as family." Mito exclaimed. "I'm also their number one customer!" Mito stated proudly.

"You must really love ramen." Naruto chuckled. "It's one of my favorites as well, but if your 'Usual' is five bowls then you have me beat." Naruto said.

"Ramen _is_ great, isn't it?" Mito asked happily. "So, have you decided on what you're going to teach me, Naruto-kun?" Naruto hummed for a second before answering.

"Well...you said you were more into jutsu, but I'm not sure I'll be able to teach you much in that regard. I only know a couple that aren't taijutsu related. I usually just use my chakra to attack and defend, but there are a few situation where I need ninjutsu." Naruto explained. "You'll be learning taijutsu mainly from Kakashi. From me, you'll mostly be working on physical stuff and fuinjutsu."

"But you will still be teaching me the shunshin, right?" Mito asked hopefully.

"Of course. Like I said, it's a useful skill. Especially in battle." Naruto said.

"You can use it in a fight?" Mito asked, confusion written on her face.

"Yep..." Mito frowned when he didn't elaborate.

"How?" Mito asked, her tone slightly irritated.

"Well, you would use it the same way you would if you were just traveling from place to place. Through the use of chakra one is able to enhance their body to move at extreme speeds. Most people use smoke, or something similar, to mask their movements. In battle, however, most usually forgo using smoke. The shunshin is good for catching your enemies off guard." Naruto explained. "Even if you know the technique, you shouldn't slack off on your speed training. If your base speed is higher, it makes the shunshin more effective**(2)**." Their conversation was put on hold by the numerous bowls being placed in front of them. They spent the next couple minutes eating their respective meals with bits of conversations thrown in. While taking a bite of her ramen, Mito had remembered that Naruto had said something about an exam back at the Old Man's office. 'Ugh...I don't think I could take another exam so soon.' Mito thought worriedly. She had only been a genin for a few weeks.

"Naruto-kun?" Mito asked, gaining her fellow redhead's attention. He turned to her, noodles hanging from his mouth. He quickly ate them before answering.

"Yes, Mito-chan?" He replied.

"Back in the Old Man's office you said something about exams. What exams were you talking about?" Mito asked, somewhat nervous.

"Oh, those. The exams I was talking about are the chunin exams." Naruto said simply.

"Chunin exams?"

"The chunin exams are a bi annual event that help the villages that participate determine if the genin that are in the exams are ready to become chunin. Each village takes turns in hosting the event, and that village often has the most genin participating**(3)**."

"How long until the next exam?" Mito was wondering how long she had to prepare.

"About four months, and they will be held in Konoha this time around. Don't worry, I'll make sure that you're _more_ than ready for them." Naruto said confidently.

"But how do you know about the exams if you aren't part of a village?" Mito asked.

"My family had kept loose tabs on each of the villages to make sure were weren't in any danger. We weren't sure what any of the villages that destroyed Uzushio would do if they discovered that there were Uzumaki left. They were _that _determined to wipe us out. We only heard minor things about each village, but the chunin exam is a very popular source of entertainment among civilians. They even grab the attention of many daimyos and other important people." Naruto explained. Mito nodded in understanding. The pair then finished their food, paid the bill, and departed from the stand.

The hotel that Naruto was staying at was on the way to Mito's place and the two stopped when they got there.

"Alright, Mito-chan, time to call it a day. What time does your training with Kakashi-san start?" Naruto asked so he knew when to show up.

"Kakashi-sensei tells us to be at the training ground at around nine in the morning, but he's usually late by three hours." Mito grumbled.

"Alright, that's perfect. We can get started on your training with me during that time." Naruto said. "Do you have any downtime from training, Mito-chan?" Naruto asked.

"Um, Kakashi-sensei gives us Sunday off so we can rest up from training." Mito answered,

"Good, you'll be spending the first half of your Sunday's training with me as well." Naruto said. "Well, see you tomorrow, Mito-chan."

"G'night, Naruto-kun." Mito said back as she continued on towards her apartment.

Naruto walked back to his room in silence, mulling over today's events. 'Man, today has been hectic...I find more family...I become a sensei...I thought this was supposed to be a vacation.' Naruto thought tiredly.

"And I still have to contact Kaa-san...well, better do that now before I forget." Naruto said. Naruto grabbed some paper and a pen and wrote a letter to his mother explaining the day's events. He then made a few handsigns. 'Summoning Jutsu!' Naruto exclaimed in his head.

In a plume of smoke a medium sized bird appeared**(4)**. It had blue feathers and its beak looked to be very sharp.

"Hey there, can you bring this letter to Kaa-san?" The bird merely nodded. "Great. Thanks, Sora." The bird nodded again before heading out the open window. 'Kaa-san should get the message in the next couple days.' Naruto thought as he entered his room and got ready to go to sleep. After doing the his usual nighttime routine he got in his bed.

"Hopefully tomorrow won't be so crazy." Naruto thought as he turned off the lights and went to bed.

Unfortunately for Naruto, his life was just going to get even more chaotic than it already was.

* * *

**Hopefully the chapter was enough to satisfy everyone. Although, it is a bit shorter than the others. I'm also going to try to describe fuinjutsu as best as I can. Obviously some things are going to be different, but I don't think that the Kishimoto actually goes into detail about fuinjutsu in canon (at least I don't think). Anyway, time for explanations.**

**1) Naruto is finally able to relax after the stressful morning he had, especially after the talk with Sarutobi. His usual personality is starting to show.**

**2)I figure, since the shunshin is just a high-speed technique, it would be added to a person's base speed.**

**3)This just makes sense. Home-field advantage, right?**

**4)If Kakashi can train regular animals to be summons, why couldn't Naruto? Although, these ones can't talk, they can only understand humans.**

**I tried to make the talk between Naruto and Mito as realistic as possible. They are now a bit closer than they were originally :) I also realized, after I wrote this chapter, that some might consider the day Mito and Naruto had as a date. Introductions...Relaxing and talking...joking around...dinner. I'm sure others would disagree withmy opinion, but its just that. An opinion. Next chapter we'll be getting into the Wave-arc.**

**See you guys next time ^^**

**Date Posted: Augest 8, 2013**

**Last Edit: N/A**

**-Loco Mortis**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay...I know I haven't uploaded in almost two months, and I apologize. I had promised myself that I would do better in school, and I am proud to say that my hard work is paying off! And to make up for my absence, I have made this chapter longer than usual. My chapters will usually be in a range of five to eight thousand words, but the longer the time between chapters, the longer I tend to make them. Now, my update speed will be somewhat erratic since I am busy with school, and am mostly doing my writing on weekends. However, I'll try...TRY...to update every month at least. I can't promise anything, however. **

**Alright, I think I've talked long enough. Enjoy the chapter :)**

* * *

It had been a month since Naruto had arrived to Konoha. In those days he had spent the majority of his time with Mito, and to a lesser degree, her team. Naruto had learned enough about the other members of team seven to create a sort of mental profile of them. Sasuke was someone who couldn't let go of his past. The emotional scars of what his brother did would not heal unless he stopped focusing on the pain he feels. He was also slightly arrogant and prideful. Naruto was made aware of those flaws on his first day in the village.

Sakura on the other hand was a complete disappointment. She fawned over Sasuke almost constantly. It also didn't look like she trained at all—and if she did, she did so rarely. She had smaller reserves compared to her teammates, but her control was just as good as his own. Naruto had shaken his head at the wasted potential. At this point she was just a liability to the team.

That's not to say that Mito was without faults. She was stubborn, excessively so, and usually didn't think before she rushed into battle. While not as much of a danger as Sakura, Mito's rash actions could get someone hurt. Naruto made sure to make their spars very gruelling (in Mito's opinion) until she started to think more during a fight.

Naruto had decided that he would train Mito the same way that his parents had trained him. It was a basic system that worked on the principle of high effort, high reward. And by high effort, he _really _means high effort. Mito's training had begun with twenty mile run (roughly thirty-two kilometers) around the training ground. Without chakra. Afterwards, she would do fifty sit ups and push ups. Then Naruto would have her working on her chakra exercises until Kakashi showed up. At first, Naruto had gone easy on Mito because she still had to train with her team. However, she had complained once that they did literally nothing when she was training with her team. After that, Naruto had upped her training and Mito wished she hadn't have opened her mouth. The number of physical exercises increased each week as Mito grew accustomed to the routine. The one thing that amazed Naruto, however, was Mito's almost regenerative healing.

Naruto knew that most genin wouldn't be able to handle the workout that he gave Mito. Yet she was adapting to them rapidly. It seemed that every tear in Mito's muscles would heal in a fraction of the time it would take a normal person. The Uzumaki were more durable than most, but Mito's healing was just astonishing to him. Naruto marveled at the possibilities, 'If only I had that ability...' Naruto had thought with a pout. The envy left as quickly as it appeared, though. After his little moment, Naruto made Mito's training even more difficult.

After a month, Naruto was proud to say that Mito was progressing quite well. Before, she was about mid-genin level. Just a bit under Sasuke in terms of skill, but after a month the gap was completely gone. Mito's endurance was higher than it used to be, her taijutsu had improved, and her chakra control was around chunin level—which is quite high for being a young jinchuriki. Naruto was certain that if Mito were to fight with Sasuke, she would definitely win.

Once Kakashi arrived to train the team, Naruto had most of the day to himself. He would just wander around Konoha, enjoying the relaxing atmosphere, but not the people in general. Naruto could have joined Mito and her team for training, and then missions afterwards, but he didn't really feel the need. However, Mito had been talking about demanding the Old Man to give her team a higher mission while on the way to training. Naruto had decided to see how the conversation would go, he was sure to get a few laughs from it. After training Mito's team training—if it could be called that, Kakashi had led the group to the Hokage tower, Naruto following behind. They entered the building and the group walked up to the front desk. Mito seemed to shrink into herself a bit, something that Naruto frowned at.

"Team seven here to request a mission." Kakashi stated, not bothering to look up from his...literature. The woman at the front desk offered a small smile and gave her reply.

"Hokage-sama is helping with the missions today. If you want one you'll have to go to him."

"Alright." Kakashi said, nose still buried in his porn. He then motioned for his team and guest to head upstairs. They knocked on the office door and were granted permission to enter. Once inside, the group saw the elderly hokage sitting behind a desk filled with mission scrolls.

"Ah, team seven...and Naruto-san, here for your regular D-rank mission." Hiruzen asked as he began to sift through the pile of scrolls labeled by the letter D.

"No way, Old Man! I'm tired of these stupid missions! THEY SHOULDN'T EVEN BE CALLED MISSIONS!" Mito yelled, her temper flaring. "They're nothing but chores that people are too lazy to do! Can't we get an actual mission." Hiruzen was not surprised by her outburst. For the past month he had seen her getting increasingly irritated by the so-called "missions". Perhaps...perhaps he could give her a more difficult mission. 'It's the least I could do to make it up to her.' Hiruzen thought. He then took a minute, pretending to think about the decision.

"Hmmmm. Alright, Mito. I'll give your team a tougher mission, but I need you to know something. I know that the D-rank missions are nothing but glorified chores. However, because of the vast number of them, they provide a steady income for Konoha. Without them, we wouldn't be as well off as we are." Hiruzen explained as he picked a C-rank scroll from its respective pile. He then motioned for his aide. "Please send in Tazuna-san." The aide nodded and quickly left.

Naruto was slightly surprised, he hadn't expected the old coot to cave that quickly. 'Must be trying to get back her trust...heh, I don't think it works like that, Old Man.' Naruto thought with a snort. Naruto went to take a deep breath, but his nose was assaulted by the stench of alcohol. 'Ugh! Who the hell drinks at this fucking early!?' Naruto thought in disgust. He wasn't a fan of alochol. He had heard the stories. Hangovers, waking up in some random location, not remembering what you did last night. No thank you!

"Team seven, this is Tazuna-san, a bridge builder from the land of waves. He had contracted us to escort him back to his home and protect him from any bandits until his bridge is finished." Hiruzen said. Tazuna looked at team seven and then took a swig of his jug of alcohol.

"I pay you guys, and you give me fucking kids for protection. What kinda bull is this!" Tazuna said, obviously not happy with his escort. Kakashi was quick to put the man's fears to rest.

"Relax, if we get into any trouble then I'll keep you from dying. I'm a jounin after all." Kakashi said. Mito then took the time to add her input.

"Ya, and Naruto-sensei**(1)** will be there too-" She was cut off, however, by Hiruzen.

"I'm sorry, Mito, but Naruto cannot go with you." He said as he lit his pipe. Mito was now thoroughly confused.

"What!? But why?" Mito said. 'Why can't Naruto-kun come with us?' Mito thought with a frown. She had grown accustomed to him always being around. He was probably her best friend, when they weren't training of course. During training he was a complete slave driver.

"As much as I'd like to send him, he is not a ninja of this village. Civilians cannot interfere with missions, and technically Naruto _is_ a civilian." Hiruzen explained. Mito then got a sad look on her face, but her attention was diverted to the hand that was placed on her head.

"It's okay, Mito-chan, I understand. Besides, I'm more than confident that you can handle _any _stupid bandit that crosses your path." Naruto assured the girl. "I have to wait for my mom to show up anyway. She'll be here any day now, and it wouldn't be good for her to arrive only to find out I'm out of the village. You'll be able to meet her once you get back." Naruto said with a smile.

"Okay, Naruto-sensei. I won't let you down." Mito said with a grin.

"Alright, you three, go home and pack for about..." Kakashi stopped and looked towards Tazuna. "How long until your bridge is finished?"

"About a month."

"...Pack a little over a month's worth of supplies. Meet at the east gate in thirty minutes." Kakashi finished as his team nodded and headed out the door. The genin quickly left to pack, but Mito stopped at the door.

"I'll see you in a month, Naruto-kun." Mito smiled as she exited the office. Naruto returned the smile and nodded his head.

"She's taken quite a shine to you, Naruto-san." Hiruzen noted. The smile on Naruto's face grew a bit as he turned towards the aged leader.

"Ya...hopefully her mission goes smoothly." Naruto said as he headed towards the exit, intent on going back to his hotel. Once he was there, he went over to his traveling bag and pulled out a notebook. The notebook was where Naruto kept all his ideas for new techniques and seals. Naruto sat down in a chair and spent the next couple hours jotting down stuff in his notebook, brow furrowed in concentration. After the fourth hour of writing Naruto was broken from his writing frenzy by a popping noise. He look over at the bed and noticed one of his mother's bird summons. He also noticed that it had a letter was tied to its leg. Naruto got up from his seat and walked towards the summon. Once the letter was taken the bird nodded its head and dismissed itself. Naruto sat on the bed and opened the letter.

_Dear Naru-kun,_

_I'm at the south gate._

Naruto just snorted at the letter. 'Short and to the point as always, Kaa-san.' Naruto then left his hotel room and headed towards the gate his mother was at.

**-With Mito-**

Mito quickly rushed back to her apartment and started to get ready for the mission. She gathered some extra clothes, her canteen, some kunai and shuriken, and some ration bars. 'They taste gross, but they get the job done.' Mito thought as she frowned at the bars. She then grabbed a sealing scroll that she had prepared beforehand and sealed everything into it. Afterwards, she went to the gate to meet her team. Once at the gate, Mito noticed that she was the only one there. Deciding to relax, she sat down against the gate. Around twenty minutes later she saw her teammates walking her way, Kakashi and Tazuna arrived shortly after.

"Mito, where are your things?" He asked, seeing no bag on her person.

"I put everything in a sealing scroll." Mito replied as she gestured to the scroll strapped to her belt.

"I see. So, are we all ready to go?" Kakashi asked, reading his usual book. At his genin's nods he started to walk out the gate. The group walked in silence for a while before Sakura asked a question.

"Tazuna-san, does wave have any ninja?" She asked their client, curiosity showing on her face. After hearing the question, Kakashi decided to answer.

"No, Sakura. Nami no Kuni doesn't have any ninja." Kakashi said simply. "Their geography isn't capable of supporting a ninja village. The land is surrounded by water, making trade difficult. Especially since the area is patrolled by Kiri, which is in the middle of civil war." Kakashi further explained.

"So Nami is basically trapped with little ways to import goods?" Sasuke summarized.

"Yeah. That's why I'm trying to build a bridge to Hi no Kuni, so we can easily trade with the land of fire. It will hopefully bring Nami out of its economic depression." Tazuna said, intentionally leaving out the main reason of his country's economic misfortune.

"So how long will it take to get to Nami no Kuni?" Sakura asked.

"About two days at our current speed. We will have to take a boat to get to our destination." Kakashi said, nose-deep in his porn. He was well versed with the geography of the Elemental Nations, he had been all over the continent in his days as an Anbu. The group walked for another four hours before Kakashi noted a small puddle on the side of the road. 'It hasn't rained in over a week...who do these guys think they are kidding?' Kakashi thought with a sigh. He looked over at his genin to see if any of them noticed as well. He saw that, surprisingly, only Mito seemed to notice. 'That Naruto person must have something to do with it...' **(2)**He thought absentmindedly as he drifted to the back of the group. 'Time to give them a little test.' Kakashi finished his inner monologue as he prepared a replacement jutsu.

As the group walked past the puddle, two unknown ninja burst from the puddle and wrapped Kakashi in chains. The remaining members of the escort look behind them, only to stare in shock as Kakashi was shredded to pieces. The genin could only watch as their sensei was brutally killed, unknown to the fact that it was only a minor genjutsu that Kakashi had placed on a log. Naru was the first to snap out of her stupor as she threw multiple shuriken in the enemies' direction. The two ninja separated and tried to rush her, but they were stopped when a kunai pinned their chain to a tree. The two stopped and looked towards Sasuke, his arm still outstretched from his throw. The assailants detached the chain and ran towards the genin, brandishing the wicked looking claws on their arms.

Mito readied her own kunai and waited for her opponent to come closer. Quickly getting in front of her, the assassin swung his clawed hand at the genin. This was dodged, however, as Mito stepped to the side and swung her own weapon. Her attack was similarly blocked as he raised his arm, which had metal plating on the side. Mito then had to jump away to avoid a kick to her side. She then made the handsign for her favorite jutsu. In a plume of smoke, five shadow clones appeared. Each clone took out a kunai and rushed at the enemy. However, if one were to look closely, they could see a small piece of paper on one of the clone's kunai. Four of the clones were taken out without much trouble, but as the enemy blocked a slash from the last clone he noticed the kunai. His eyes widened as he looked at the explosive tag that was about to detonate. 'SHIT!' He thought before he was enveloped in a moderately sized explosion, not having enough time to do a replacement. The explosion blasted him into a tree, and was unconscious before he hit the ground**(3)**. Mito had satisfied smile on her face as she turned towards Sasuke and his opponent.

She saw that Sasuke was having a little more trouble with his opponent. Her eyes widened when she saw Sasuke be knocked away. Using the opening, the second assassin rushed towards Sakura and Tazuna. Mito cursed as Sakura froze up, she was too far away to get to her in time. Sakura seemed snap out of it, however, and raised a kunai defensively. Just before the enemy reached the two, Kakashi appeared in a shunshin and chopped him in the neck, sending him into unconsciousness. The genin all exhaled varying sized sighs of relief.

"Kakashi-sensei, you're okay!" Sakura exclaimed in relief. Kakashi gave her an eye-smile, but the smile quickly left as he gave Tazuna a stern look.

"So Tazuna-san, looks like you have some explaining to do." Kakashi said to the sweating man.

"W-what are you talking about?" Tazuna replied nervously, hoping his innocent act worked.

"There's no point lying," Kakashi said. "those two were obviously after you. If they were trying to kill us, the last one would have killed Sasuke before heading towards Sakura." Tazuna was thinking rapidly to find a decent argument, but decided it was pointless.

"Alright...you found me out." Tazuna said with a heavy sigh. "This isn't just an escort. There's also another reason for Nami's economic crisis. A man named Gato has basically taken over Nami no Kuni."

"Gato? As in the shipping tycoon?" Kakashi asked dubiosly.

"Yes...that bastard has bled Nami dry. Even the daimyo has little money. Gato views the bridge as a threat to the monopoly he has created, and is hiring assassins to kill me." Tazuna explained.

"That would explain why the Oni Kyodai attacked us." Kakashi said. "However, you lied about the mission. It is well within our rights as shinobi of Konoha to turn around and leave you here." After hearing Kakashi's words, Tazuna grew desperate.

"Please! You can't just leave me here! If you leave, I'll surely be killed. And if I'm killed the people of Nami will hate Konoha, especially my daughter and my little grandson." Tazuna pleaded, blatantly guilt-tripping the ninja.

Kakashi, who had started to head back to Konoha, stopped after hearing the man's begging. 'For the love of...' Kakashi thought. He then turned to his genin.

"What do you guys think?" He questioned. Mito was the first to answer.

"I'm staying! He needs help, and Konoha already took his money...if his country is as poor as he says then he won't be able to get more protection. Besides, it would look bad if we just left on our first real mission." Mito said. Sasuke and Sakura both refused to leave, making Kakashi sigh at his student's stubbornness. 'These kids will be the death of me...' He thought with a sigh.

"Fine, we're staying...But I'm calling for backup. The demon brothers were C-rank criminals. Gato would surely have hired more muscle if they failed. Hopefully the backup will arrive before we run into more of Gato's assassins." Kakashi said as he summoned his fastest dog to send a message to the Sandaime. Once the message was sent, the group set off for Nami no Kuni.

**-With Naruto-**

As Mito and her team were leaving the village, Naruto headed towards the south gate. When he got there, he saw his mother waiting for him patiently as she sat on a bench. She had a neutral expression on her face as she looked at the village. However, her eyes visibly brightened when she saw him approaching the gate.

"Sochi-kun!" Rei exclaimed as she ran towards her son, and enveloped him in a hug. Naruto just chuckled at his mother, returning the hug. Despite being a little under forty, Rei didn't look a year over twenty. If anyone were to look, they would think that they were siblings. The only noticeable difference in her age was the minute wrinkles that gathered at the corners of her mouth. Rei was wearing a modest blue long-sleeved shirt and a black skirt that went down to her knees. She was also wearing black slippers. People wouldn't be able to tell she was a shinobi even if they tried.

"It's good to see you, Kaa-san. How was the festival?" Naruto said as they started to wander through the village.

"It was good. It was a fun break. There were a lot of casinos in the town, though." Rei said, a small smile crossing her face.

"Oh? How much did you make?" Naruto inquired.

"Not much...let's just say there are fewer casinos in that town now." Rei said with a small smirk as she patted a scroll in her pocket where she sealed all her winnings. Naruto just laughed at his mother's words. This wasn't an uncommon thing with his family. Whenever they were short on cash they would just clean out the closest casino and disappear before any of the thugs caught them. Lady Luck favored the Uzumakis, it seemed.

"That much, huh? Looks like money won't be an issue for a while." Naruto laughed. His demeanor then turned somewhat serious. "So, you read my letter...what do you think?" Rei was silent before a smile appeared on her face.

"I can't wait to meet her. If she really is Kushina-sama's child then she will be the future head of our clan**(4)**. I will also have to make sure that she is well versed in politics." Rei said as a frown grew on her face. "If what you say is true, there will be a lot of people that would oppose her being on the council."

"True, but I'm not all that worried. I'm sure she'll be able to handle them." Naruto said offhandedly. The two then spent the next couple hours walking around the village, making idle chatter. They eventually decided to get something to eat.

"So, Sochi, do you know a good place to eat around here?" His mother asked.

"Yeah, there is this place that Mito and I would go to after training called Ichiraku's." Naruto said as he led his mother to the stand. Once the two got to the stand and took a seat, they were greeted by Ayame.

"Hello, Naruto-san." Ayame said as she greeted her friend.

"Hey, Ayame-san." Naruto replied, he then turned to his mother. "this is Ayame Ichiraku, her father owns this stand."

"Hello, Ayame-san. My name is Rei, I'm Naruto's mother." Rei said as she extended her hand in a friendly gesture. She may be cold to people, but she was sure as hell going to be polite about it. Ayame gained a shocked look as she shook Rei's hand.

"You're his mother?! You barely look twenty!" Ayame said, clearly baffled.

"Must be good genes." Naruto said with a knowing grin. Ayame quickly got over her shock and took their order. Naruto got his usual two bowls of beef, and his mother ordered a bowl of pork ramen. Both mother and son spent around two hours, chatting with each other. It had been close to sun down when they began bouncing ideas around about Mito's training.

"Have you checked her affinity yet?" Rei asked her son.

"Not yet. I've been getting her control up to par. Considering her condition, it should have been a priority during the academy." Naruto said with a frown. "I guess it's better late than never."

"Well, you did say that she is a fast learner, especially since she can create so many shadow clones." Rei said.

"That's true...I was so shocked when I saw her create over five hundred clones, but I'm not complaining. It helped her get her control up to par."

"Heheh, you always were obsessed about your chakra control." Rei laughed at her son.

"You say that like it's a bad thing, Kaa-san." Their conversation was put on hold, however, when an Anbu appeared outside the stand. The Anbu lifted the flap and got Naruto's attention.

"Naruto-san, Hokage-sama requests your presence. He said it was urgent—something regarding team seven." Before the Anbu knew it, Naruto was gone.

Naruto had dashed out of the stand at his max speed. Something had gone wrong on the mission, he could just feel it. His worries grew as he got closer to the tower. Naruto had forgone using the door and jumped straight to the window of Hiruzen's office. Once inside he voiced his concerns.

"What happened?" Naruto asked, worst case scenarios racing through his head.

"Relax, Naruto-san." Hiruzen said soothingly. "Team seven is fine, they just had a run in with some missing ninja."

"Then what is the problem?" Naruto said as he sighed in relief.

"Kakashi felt that they weren't out of danger yet and requested some backup." Hiruzen said.

"Backup...but I thought that civilians couldn't interfere with missions."

"Who said I was sending you." Hiruzen said with a neutral look. "I'm just explaining the situation. If you decided to...Oh I don't know...take a visit to Nami no Kuni—you know, like a vacation...and help a group of travelers in need of assistance, who am I to stop you?" He finished rhetorically. Naruto's eyes widened slightly as he got the real message.

"_Go help them, you have my permission."_

"You're not so bad after all, Sandaime." Naruto said with a smirk. Naruto then left the office same way he came. Once he was back on the street he spotted his mother running towards him.

"Naruto, is everything alright?" Rei asked her son worriedly.

"Change of plans, Kaa-san. Looks like you'll be meeting Mito-chan earlier than expected." Naruto said.

"We need to get to Nami no Kuni, Mito's team was sent on a mission there and they need backup."

"And we're the backup, correct?" Rei asked as she activated a seal on her arm. She was enveloped in a plume of smoke, and once it dissipated, it revealed her in her kunoichi gear that resembled an Anbu uniform. However, unlike Konoha's uniform, Rei had a black long-sleeved shirt and the armor was a dark red color. Rei's hair was also pulled into a tight ponytail that was also tied at the end.

"Yep." Naruto said as he unsealed his dagger and fastened it horizontally across the small of his back.

"So which gate to we go through?"

"West."

The two raced towards the west gate, towards the setting sun. Naruto understood that Nami no Kuni was about a three day walk—not counting the boat ride. However, at an ninja's pace it would take about a day and a half. Luckily for the Uzumaki duo, they weren't average ninja. Naruto had trained his speed quite a bit, and Rei was just naturally fast. They should be able to get to Mito's group by sunrise. The two dashed through the west gate, completely disregarding the ninjas guarding it and hauled ass towards Nami no Kuni.

'You better be alright, Mito.' Naruto thought as jumped through the trees, clearly worried for his student.

Mito and the rest of team seven had a rather rough night. The genin were exposed, for the first time, to something that shinobi deal with constantly—paranoia. They weren't sure if any enemies would attack when most of them were asleep. There would be one person keeping watch during the night, and everyone would take a shift. Mito was given the last shift before sunrise and was having trouble keeping her eyes opened, she hadn't been able to sleep well. She was so out of it, that she didn't noticed the two figures that entered their camp until one of them wave a hand in her face. Startled, Mito swung her kunai at who ever was in front of her. The figure leaned back, dodging the swipe.

"Whoa! Mito-chan, watch where you swing that thing!" Mito shook the drowsiness from her mind and she finally noticed who was in front of her. It was Naruto! Her eyes quickly widened and jumped off the ground and tackled him in a hug.

"Naruto-kun!" exclaimed the happy girl. Naruto laughed a bit and hugged her back.

"Hey there, Shrimp, how are you holding up? You hurt anywhere?" Naruto asked, concern evident in his voice. Naruto then pushed her away far enough so he could examine her for any wounds.

"I'm fine, Naruto-kun." Mito said as she blushed at his scrutiny.

"Good." He said in relief. Mito then noticed the woman that was standing behind Naruto.

"Naruto-kun, who is that?" Mito asked as she pointed towards the mysterious woman.

"That's my mother, Mito-chan." Naruto said with a smile. Mito's eyes widened before she grew nervous. 'What if she doesn't like me?' Mito thought, old insecurities coming to the surface of her mind. The woman walked towards the two and smiled gently at the girl.

"Hello, Mito-chan, it's nice to meet you. My name is Rei. My son has told me much about you in his letter." Rei said kindly. "From what he's said, you seem like a nice girl. I look forward to getting to know you." Rei's normally cold personality was replaced by the kind and gentle woman who only family saw. Mito was family, and a dear friend of her son, why wouldn't she be nice to her? Mito visibly calmed down and smiled at the older woman, happy that she had her approval.

"I look forward to knowing you as well, Rei-san." Mito said with a large smile. The conversation seemed to have woken up the other residents of the camp. Kakashi was the first to rise, showing no signs of fatigue at all. Sasuke and Sakura quickly got out of their tents, but they both looked exhausted. The two then went to wake up Tazuna, who had a liquor bottle in his hand. Kakashi noticed the two extra redheads that he was sure weren't there before he had gone to sleep. He also noticed that one of them was Mito's friend Naruto. The other was a complete mystery to the one-eyed jonin.

"Are you two the backup Hokage-sama sent?" Kakashi asked. Naruto simply smiled.

"Nope, we're just two traveling civilians who thought to help some travelers who need it." Naruto said. Kakashi was silent for a moment before replying.

"I see. Well, we're almost to the area where we need to go by boat. About another hour or so." Kakashi said as he motions for his genin to clean up the camp and head out. The group of seven quickly got to the shore of Hi no Kuni and noticed that there was a man with a motor boat. When he saw Tazuna, the man gained a relieved look on his face.

"Tazzuna-san! Thank God, you're alright!" The guide said.

"It's good to see you, Hotaru-san**(5)**. Is it safe to cross?" Tazuna asked his friend.

"Yes, the next patrol won't be here for another hour. That's plenty of time." The group silently got on the boat and Hotaru started the motor. As they traveled across the water, the ninja gazed at the unfinished bridge in awe. Even if it wasn't completed, the bridge was massive. The bridge looked to be half done. 'This is going to take a month?' Naruto thought incredulously. 'The old drunk must be quite the architect to claim to finish this bridge in such a short amount of time.' Naruto finished.

Soon the group reached the shore, and Hotaru sped off on his boat. The group walked down a path, Tazuna giving directions towards his home. Naruto was getting more tense with each passing moment. Mito had explained the fight that she was in, and while he was proud of her quick thinking, he was sure that the next assassin would be tougher. 'This guy must be waiting for us to drop out guard since we're almost at Tazuna's house. And the mist is getting thicker...there's also a faint amount of chakra in the air, I almost missed it.' Naruto thought. 'If it's who I think it is, I better get ready. We're in _his_ turf.' Naruto then motion for Mito to be on guard. He didn't bother notifying his mother, he was sure she already knew. She was a better sensor than him after all. Kakashi also looked tenser than usual.

The ninja all jumped a bit when Mito threw a kunai towards a bush. A 'thunk' was heard, and when Mito went to investigate they all saw a white rabbit with a kunai lodged into its skull. Mito grimaced as she dislodged the kunai from the dead rabbit. Naruto's eyes narrowed as he examined the carcass closer. 'A white rabbit in spring...I call bullshit.' Naruto thought. His ears then caught the sound of a large object coming towards them at a high-speed.

"GET DOWN!" Naruto yelled as he gathered a large amount of chakra around his hands. He then turned and stopped the object—a broadsword. The momentum behind the sword caused him to skid back a few feet, he was also experiencing a dull ache in his arms. Naruto wasn't given any time to rest, however, as he raised his foot to block a kick from his left, which he used to push himself away from the assailant. He let the chakra in his hands dissipate as he looked at the man in front of him.

"Zabuza Momochi, A-rank missing nin of Kirigakure no Sato." Naruto said, recalling the information the bingo book had on him. "So you were hired by Gato?"

"Heh, well aren't you a smart little brat." Zabuza said mockingly. "I couldn't have asked for an easier job. Getting paid to kill a bunch of kids and an old drunk, the only challenge here looks to be Kakashi." Zabuza finished. Kakashi made a move to engage Zabuza, but was stopped by Naruto who gestured for him to stay back. Kakashi didn't appreciate the gesture, but relented. It would be a good way to learn what the so called "backup" could do. He would step in if necessary.

"I think you'll find a decent challenge in me, Zabuza." Naruto said. Zabuza snorted, but decided to get the fight over with.

"You're funeral, kid." Zabuza then made a handsign. "Kirigakure no Jutsu." Mist started to form around the clearing, making it only possible to see a foot in front of yourself. Naruto quickly pulled out his dagger and blocked a slash from his right, reinforcing his arm with chakra. He pushed the giant sword away and lashed out with a kick, not really expecting to make contact, and heard his opponent jump away. 'It seems like Zabuza doesn't recognize me.' Naruto thought with a small grin. Naruto then closed his eyes and began to focus on the sounds around him. He heard very faint footsteps coming in from behind him and silently created a lightning clone. He sent the clone towards where he heard the footsteps and heard the sound of electricity, followed by falling water. 'Water clone...' Naruto thought before he ducked Zabuza's sword and lashed out with his dagger, slashing him across the chest. Once more, Naruto heard the sound of falling water and jumped onto the lake. By that time the mist was starting to thin out. 'Why does it feel harder to channel chakra through the water...oh crap...' Naruto thought as Zabuza burst through the water.

"Water prison!" Zabuza exlcaimed as he trapped Naruto in a sphere of water. The mist had cleared completely and the rest of the group could see Naruto trapped in the jutsu. By the looks of things, Rei had set up a barrier seal around herself and Tazuna. 'Smart thinking, Kaa-san.' Naruto thought.

"Naruto!" Mito yelled, worried for her sensei. The other genin looked shocked, but not as much as Mito. Kakashi looked ready to step in, but Rei held out her hand.

"Don't worry, water is the worst element to fight Naruto with." Rei said, not looking worried in the least. "Just give him a minute." Zabuza looked at his prisoner and laughed mockingly, his arm keeping the jutsu going.

"Not so much of a challenge now, are you?" Zabuza gloated. Naruto just looked at him for a second before he started to channel his chakra around his body. Zabuza noticed it too, but didn't think too much about it. "It's useless your chakra can't get me out here." Naruto then started to focus his chakra.

"That's where you're wrong, Zabuza." Naruto said, his voice muffled by the water. "Tell me what is water?"

"What kind of stupid question is that?" Zabuza asked angrily. The next thing he knew, he was being severely electrocuted. It was getting worse by the second, and he was forced to release the jutsu. Naruto landed on the water and jumped back a few feet.

"Water is a conductor for electricity, Zabuza. Something that I happen to be very skilled at controlling." Naruto said as he readied his dagger. Zabuza stumbled on the surface of the lake for a moment before he gained his barings.

"Ugh...I remember you now. You're that Uzumaki brat..." Zabuza said. The others at the shore. The rest of the group, sans Rei, were shocked that Zabuza knew Naruto. "No wonder I couldn't sneak up on you in the mist, I fucking taught you the silent killing." Zabuza said as he grit his teeth in frustration.

"So you remember now. Then you must realize that you can't win this fight. You're silent killing is useless, your water jutsus are no match for my lightning, and you're standing on one huge conductor**(7)**." Naruto explained with an even tone. Zabuza grit his teeth he weighed his options. 'Dammit! Even if I beat this brat, I still have to deal with Kakashi—another lightning user, and the brat's mother...Dammit! I'm out gunned.' Zabuza thought. He finally decided to cut his losses and make a tactical retreat. He created more mist before shunshining away. When the mist cleared, Zabuza was gone. Naruto sighed, holstered his dagger, and walked back to shore. When returned to the group, he was confronted by an angry looking Mito.

"You IDIOT! I thought you had actually been captured, next time stop playing around!" Mito yelled. Naruto just sighed and apologized. He knew she was just worried about him, but did she have to yell? Naruto then walked towards his mother, who had released the barrier seal surrounding her and the bridge builder.

"Sochi, there was another chakra signature hiding in the trees about fifty meters away. He left right when Zabuza did." Rei informed her son. She had sensed the person as soon as Naruto and Zabuza started fighting, that's why she made the barrier. Kakashi heard her and frowned.

"So Zabuza had an accomplice. He'll surely have more help next time. We'll have to be on our guard. It'll probably take some time for Gato to find someone strong enough to help Zabuza, so I estimate that we have about a week to prepare." Kakashi explained. He then turned towards his genin. "That means more training." Mito looked indifferent, Sakura looked apprehensive at the thought of fighting dangerous ninja, and Sasuke had a...different look in his eyes. 'Hopefully it will be real training this time.' Mito's new sensei would always show up before Kakashi and take her off somewhere. He could tell they were training because Mito would return with a few bruises and cuts. She would also face-plant right into the ground and stay there until Kakashi arrived.

Mito was getting stronger, that much he could tell. They had both fought one of the demon brothers, and Sasuke had found himself having difficulties. He cursed himself for letting the bastard get past him. He was slightly relieved when Kakashi had stopped their client from being killed. It wouldn't look good on his record for his first real mission to be a failure. The assassin had been knocked out and tied to a tree. Sasuke had then looked towards Mito, only to see her dragging the unconscious and heavily damaged form of her opponent. It hurt his pride to see that she had defeated an enemy that he couldn't, but the salt in his wounds was that she wasn't even injured. Not in the slightest! And now that he had seen her sensei in action, his jealousy was getting ready to burst. 'He had been able to make an A-ranked missing nin flee. He was in control of the situation the entire time...and he's teaching that loser...' Sasuke thought in anger. 'I need to get stronger...' He was driven from his thoughts once the group started moving towards Tazuna's house. After another hour of traveling, they had finally reached the house. Knocking on the door, Tazuna was greeted by a woman with black hair and was wearing a pink sweater and blue knee-length skirt. A huge smile grew onto her face as she hugged the old man to death.

"Tou-san! You're safe!" The woman said happily. After the hug, Tazuna turned her attention towards the group of six.

"Tsunami-chan, these are the kind people who decided to help me." Tazuna said as he gestured for them to introduce themselves. Kakashi took this as his cue, and introduced himself first.

"I'm Kakashi Hatake."

"I'm Sakura Haruno."

"Hello, Tsunami-san, I am Rei Uzumaki."

"...Sasuke Uchiha."

"Hello, I'm Mito Uzumaki."

"Hey, I'm Naruto Uzumaki."

Tsunami then bowed to them all in gratitude.

"Thank you for protecting my father on his way home. I was so worried that I wouldn't see him again." Tsunami said.

"Grandpa!" Yelled a young boy, who ran into the room and hugged his grandfather's legs.

"Hey, Inari, these are the nice ninja that helped me back home." Some greeted the boy, but were ignored.

"So, Tazuna-san. When will you begin working on the bridge?" Asked Kakashi as he read his book.

"I'll start tomorrow."

"Alright, Sasuke and I will be your escort for that day. Tomorrow will Sasuke will switch out with Sakura, and the day after will be Mito. Whoever is not on guard detail will be training. I'll give you some scrolls to work with so you will have a place to start." The genin all nodded in understanding. It was starting to get late, so the ninja retired for the evening. Mito, Rei, and Sakura shared a room while the guys got the other room.

**-The Next Day-**

The next day, Naruto and Mito left the house to continue training. Rei had also decided to tag along, hoping to offer her own imput. They went deep into the forest so they wouldn't disturb anyone.

"Alright Mito-chan, my Kaa-san and I have been discussing ways to help you improve. One of the ways was by testing your elemental affinity." Naruto explained. Mito then gained a questioning look.

"How do I do that?" At her question, Rei pulled out a small piece of paper.

"This paper is made from a special tree that is almost constantly being fed chakra. If you channel chakra into this you-" she was cut off when Mito snatched the paper and channeled chakra into it. The paper split into two halves and both halved turned soggy.

"What does that mean?!" Mito asked excitedly. Rei sighed as she continued her explaination.

"I'll tell you if you don't interrupt, Mito-chan. If you're a fire element the paper burns, water makes it soggy, wind cuts it in half, earth makes it crumble like dirt, and lightning crumples the paper." Rei explained. "The affinities that you have are wind and water."

"So how do I use my affinities?" Mito asked. This time, Naruto stepped in to explained.

"You don't actually use an affinity. Affinities just indicate which types of jutsu you'll be able to use. Since your affinities are water and wind, you'll have an easier time using jutsu of those elements. I have a lightning affinity and a minor fire affinity, both of which are odd for an Uzumaki. Your affinities are more typical of our clan. My Kaa-san also has a water affinity, so she'll be able to teach you some jutus. In the mean time, you will be working on the usual stuff." Naruto explained as he motioned for Mito to start running around the clearing.

The next two days passed quickly for the Uzumakis. Mito had been working on increasing her chakra control, and was now working on water manipulation. Rei had given Mito the task of trying to pull water out of a nearby lake. Once she could do that, she was to make different shapes with the water. The more complex the shape, the more control it took. On the third day, however, it was time for Mito to guard Tazuna with Kakashi. Naruto decided that he would simply walk around town, since there would be no training.

After eating breakfast and bidding farewell to Mito, Naruto started off into town. As he went deeper and deeper into the town, he could see that Wave desperately need the bridge. The buildings were in various states of disarray, and each looked like they were ready to collapse. There were also entire families living in the street, and it broke his heart that he couldn't do anything at the moment. Naruto eventually found himself in what appeared to be a red light district, although it didn't look much different than the rest of the town. Walking down the road a bit, Naruto heard a large amount of ruckus coming from one of the larger buildings. Naruto also noticed that there were thugs guarding the entrance. This particular building looked to be in better shape than others, so he decided to see what the commotion was.

Walking past the guards, Naruto was greeted by the sight of numerous thugs and scantily clad women. 'A strip joint?' Naruto thought dubiously. 'I realize this part of town looks to be a red light district but...' Naruto then took a closer look at the expressions of each of the women. One could see disgust and shame etched on each of their faces if they looked close enough, Naruto was also shocked that some of them looked around his age!

"Ahh!"

Naruto was driven from his thoughts by a scream, and looked to his left where the scream came from. What he saw made his blood boil. There were a group of thugs surrounding a woman, restraining her limbs, and grabbing at her clothes. Their intentions were very obvious to Naruto. Naruto also noticed that no moved to stop them. Temporarily suppressing his rage, Naruto stalked towards the group. He tapped on thug on the shoulder and got his attention.

"What do you want brat, can't you see we're-" The thug was cut off when Naruto roughly grabbed his collar and threw him across the room. The man crashed into the wall and toppled onto the floor with a loud thud. The noise got the attention of every other mercenary in the room,.

"Hey, who the fuck is the brat?"

"How should I know!?"

"Holy crap! What happened to

"The bastard is ruining our fun! Kill him!" The rest of the thugs roared in agreement and swarmed the redhead. Naruto created a clone to get the women to safety while he dealt with the trash. There were about fifty thugs in the building, not counting the two he had already dealt with. 'Good thing that the room isn't very crowded.' Naruto thought at he created four more shadow clones to help finish the fight quickly. Naruto and his clones each rushed towards a group of thugs.

When the original Naruto was in front of the group, one thug tried to swing his dagger at him. Quickly drawing his own blade, Naruto dodged and struck. The thug blinked for a second, and his brain finally processed the fact that from his forearm down was a stump. Before he could scream, Naruto decked him in the nose with enough force to send bone fragments into his brain. 'One...' Naruto thought. He then heard footsteps coming from the side, and turned to block and overhead sword swipe. Pushing to blade away, Naruto thrust his foot into the mercenary's stomach, sending three feet away. Naruto lowered his leg and sent it backwards, catching another thug in chin. Both thugs were incapacitated by the devastating kicks. 'Three...' Naruto turned towards the remaining seven thugs and raised both his fists in front of him, dagger held firmly in his leading hand. He then smirked at the thugs, goading them with his opposite hand in a "come on" gesture. Two more thugs ran at the redhead, intent on killing him and mounting his head on a wall. One swung at Naruto with his axe, and Naruto ducked the swing. From his ducked position, Naruto sent a barrage of bone breaking punches to his opponent's exposed torso. Finishing his assault, Naruto sent the thug flying with a strong right hook. 'Four...' The next thug tried to cut open his exposed side with his katana, but Naruto stepped back. The thug seemed decent with his sword, but he was no match for a shinobi. Naruto intentionally kept backing up towards a wall, and when his back was against it, he dashed to the right. The thug's sword was then lodged into the wall. He tried to get it free, but his efforts were cut short by Naruto's leg crashing into his knee. The thug screamed as his leg was forced into an unnatural angle. Naruto then followed by slamming the hilt of his dagger into the thug's temple. 'Five...'

The remaining thugs were starting to become frightened of the redhead. However, they were certain that they could take him down if they attacked as a group. They grabbed their weapons and ran at Naruto, who was a fair distance away. Naruto, having had enough of dealing with such filth, gathered chakra to his limbs. Naruto then jabbed at the air twice, and sent a kick. The thugs would have laughed at their opponent if it weren't for the blue projectiles that were launched from Naruto's strikes. The three masses of moving chakra each hit a thug, the concussive force knocking them out cold. 'Eight...' The last two thugs tried to make a break for the exit, but Naruto wasn't going to have that. He gathered more chakra in his arms, and extended the chakra at the fleeing mercenaries. The chakra wrapped around their necks and they were pulled back towards Naruto. Once there Naruto grabbed their heads and slammed them into each other, effectively knocking them out. As the last two men fell into unconsciousness, Naruto looked around the building and saw that his clones had taken care of the other mercenaries.

Relaxing somewhat, Naruto dispelling all of his clones, and went to where his first clone had taken the girls. He walked into the forest behind the building, and was instantly swarmed by many the women. They were all wondering who he was and if he was all right. Naruto eased their fears and introduced himself to them. After doing so, Naruto noticed that the woman he had initially saved had walked up to him.

"Naruto-san, I would like to thank you for saving me—for saving all of us." The woman said as she bowed deeply, the other women followed suit. Naruto just scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"It was no trouble...uh..." Naruto trailed off, not knowing the woman's name.

"Oh, where are my manners?" The woman said. "My name is Umi."

"Nice to meet you. Like I said Umi-san, it was no trouble. I couldn't just let that happen." Naruto said, referring to what had almost happened.

"Still, you have our eternal gratitude." Umi said as she rose from her bow.

"...Umi-san?"

"Yes?"

"...Is this common in Nami no Kuni?" Naruto did not say it directly, but Umi understood what he meant.

"Unfortunately, yes." She then released a sorrowful sigh. "Ever since Gato arrived in our land, he had been slowly bleeding our economy dry. When it got to the point that people couldn't pay their taxes, Gato started taking people as slaves. He would then sell them on the black market, however, he kept some of the women and girls for his...twisted pleasures." Umi said as a few tears escaped her eyes. She had lost many friends to that monster, and she was later forced to work in that bar. She was lucky that Naruto showed up when he did, she did not dare to think about what would happen if he hadn't saved her.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Umi-san. But rest assured that Gato will be dealt with." Naruto comforted the woman. Umi looked up at his words. She had seen a small bit of the fight inside the building, and saw him take care of the thugs with extreme ease. It was obvious that he was a shinobi.

"What do you mean, Naruto-san." Umi asked, a small trace of hope in her voice.

"It's as I say. Gato _will_ be dealt with, one way or another." Naruto promised, a plan starting to form in his mind.

"But Gato has hundreds of bodyguards! I understand that you're strong, but one man can't win against those odds." Umi said worriedly.

"Umi-san, thank you for your concern, but I am not alone. I am part of the shinobi team that escorted Tazuna-san." Naruto said complacently.

"Tazuna-san is back?" Umi exclaimed in shock.

"Yep, now the bridge can be completed sooner." Naruto answered.

"Thank God. Everyone in wave has been worried sick about him. I'm sure the townspeople will be relieved at his return." Umi said.

"Don't worry, Umi-san. Everything will turn out alright. I promise." With that, Naruto bid the Umi and the other women farewell. The group then dispersed, most likely to tell the town about Tazuna's return.

Naruto kept wandering the town for the next few hours, making a mental map of the town's layout and surrounding forest. A ninja could never be _too_ paranoid. It was sundown by the time Naruto returned to the house. As he stepped through the door he let loose a bit of chakra to let Kakashi know that he was there. When he walked into the house he saw that everyone was gathered around a table as dinner was being served.

"Hello, sochi." Rei said from her place at the table. "You're just in time for dinner." Naruto nodded to his mother. He walked to the table and took a seat between his mother and Mito. Mito sent a smile his way when he sat down.

"Hey, Naruto-kun." She said as she ate.

"Hello, Mito-chan." Naruto greeted back. "How was guard duty?"

"Ugh, it was so boring. I would rather be training with you and Rei-obasan." Mito complained with a pout.

"Well, someone has to keep the drunk safe." Naruto said, ignoring Tazuna's indignant rebuttle.

"At least I could work on my affinity training since there is plenty of water to practice with." Mito said. This caught the rest of team seven's attention, more so Kakashi and Sasuke. Kakashi seemed to be the only one who voiced his thoughts.

"Affinity training? Who taught you that?" Kakashi asked, already having an idea of who it was.

"Naruto-kun and Rei-obasan, they've taught me loads of stuff!" Mito said with an excited grin. Kakashi then gained a stern look.

"Like what?" Kakashi asked. Before Mito could answer, Naruto cut her off.

"Sorry, Kakashi-san, but it's a clan matter." Naruto said. Naruto had read up on Konoha's various laws and policies, especially the ones that concerned clans. One such law stated that any training and techniques belonging to a clan were strictly confidential. The only exception was if the training/technique was potentially harmful to the village as a whole. Kakashi stared at Naruto for a second, but eventually relented. There was nothing he could do.

"...Fine." Was Kakashi's reply.

At the other end of the table, Sasuke was clenching his fists. 'Mito is training in her affinity?! All I've been told to do are stupid chakra exercises. When is Kakashi going to start _actually_ training me?!' Sasuke raged mentally. He may know jutsu, but had not actually trained his affinity beyond what was required to make the jutsu work. 'What's worse is that Mito's affinity is water...that means any fire jutsu I use will be useless against her!' Sasuke thought as he glared at the Uzumakis.

"How can you all be so calm." A voice said as everyone looked towards Tsunami's son, Inari. "How can you be so cheerful when you are all going to DIE!" Yelled Inari. "GATO IS JUST GOING TO KILL ALL OF YOU. WHY DO YOU EVEN BOTHER?!" Mito seemed to take great offense to that statement.

"Stupid brat! We were hired to protect your grandfather. Stop being so ungrateful!" Mito said heatedly.

"THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO!" Inari continued yelling. "YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW STRONG GATO IS! YOU HAVE NO IDEA OF THE PAIN WE WENT THROUGH!" If she were able to, Mito would have decked him across the face, but she decided to end the conversation before she did something she regretted.

"I know more about pain than you think, you brat. Don't assume things about people who you don't know." Mito said with a calmness that hid her anger. Mito then got up from the table and out the front door. Naruto watched her go with a sad look, he knew that Inari's comment brought up some bad memories for her. He then looked at Inari who was holding back his tears.

"Inari," Naruto said as the child looked at him. "are you happy with the way Nami no Kuni is?"

"Of course not!" Inari snapped.

"Then why are you trying to get drive away the only hope your country has. We were given a job and we plan on completing it." Naruto said simply. "Your grandfather is trying to free Nami no Kuni. Saying there is no hope is an insult to not only his dreams, but everyone in Wave's." At this point, Inari couldn't fight back his tears and he ran upstairs. Tsunami watched her son go with a sad look.

"I apologize for Inari. He hasn't always been like this." She said sadly. Sakura then decided to voice a question.

"If you don't mind my asking...what happened?"

"No, no...it's fine." Tsunami said as she composed herself. "It all started when Inari met a man named Kaiza, who saved him from drowning. My first husband had died shortly after Inari was born, and Kaiza soon filled the role of Inari's father. Kaiza and I fell in love about a year later and got married. We were a happy family, but that all ended when Gato arrived. Kaiza tried to rebel against Gato, but he was captured and publicly killed...Inari was in the front of the crowd." Tsunami said, a few tears escaping her eyes. The general mood in the room seemed to take a nose-dive after the story.

"I'm sorry for your loss ." Naruto commented solemnly.

"Thank you. While I have mostly moved on Inari, still clings to the pain of losing his father figure."

"Don't worry, Tsunami-san. Gato won't be a problem for much longer." Naruto said as he left the table to see if Mito was alright.

**-With Mito-**

Mito was currently sitting in a tall tree branch, attempting to control her anger. Inari's words had brought up some repressed anger from her childhood, and she had barely stopped herself from physically assaulting the child. 'Stupid brat...who the hell does he think he is!' Mito ranted. 'He isn't the only one who's had it rough...' She thought as she leaned against the tree as buried memories resurfaced. Memories of being treated like she didn't exist, and if they did acknowledge her it was only with disdain. '...Stupid civilians.' Mito finished her inner monologue with a sad frown.

After a few minutes of listening to the ambient sounds of the forest, Mito heard someone coming in her direction. 'Either they don't know I'm here, or they are overconfident.' Mito thought as she reached into her pouch and grabbed a kunai. She waited for the person to appear, but she lowered her guard when she saw Naruto land on the branch right next to her's. He sat down and just looked through the trees, observing the stars as they lit up the sky.

"It's okay to be angry," Naruto said abruptly. "It wasn't right for him to say what he did." The subject of his words were obvious to Mito. She sighed before looking at the sky as well.

"I'm not angry at the brat..." Mito explained. "...He just brought up some bad memories." Naruto nodded, not turning away from his star-gazing.

"Want to talk about it?" Mito was silent for a time before she spoke.

"When I was younger, I wasn't the most popular person to the people of Konoha. I was thrown out of the orphanage when I was five, and it took almost two weeks for the Old Man to be informed." Mito said sadly. Naruto seemed outraged at the statement.

"How could they not figure out you were missing?!"

"...The Old Man had said his forces had been spread thin from the Kyuubi's attack. He didn't have any soldiers to spare." Mito said.

"So, even five years after the Kyuubi's attack, the village was still recovering?" Naruto asked rhetorically. "I find that hard to believe."

"Yeah. Now that I think about it, it does seem like the Old Man was just making excuses." Mito reasoned. Naruto looked at her and saw the same betrayed look she wore when she was told about her family. Naruto heaved a heavy sigh before he spoke.

"Mito-chan...I'm not defending what the Old Man said—not by a long shot, but do you really think he had any better explanations? I'm sure he felt horrible, as he should have." Mito's expression didn't change.

"As much as it would have hurt, the truth would've been better. If there is one thing that I hate, it's being lied to." Mito finished softly.

"You and me both, Mito-chan." Naruto agreed wholeheartedly. "And you don't have to worry, I will never lie to you. We're family, after all." Naruto said as he smiled at Mito, who gave her own thankful smile.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun." Mito said as a small tear fell from her eye. "I'm glad that I could talk to someone about this." Naruto just gave her a grin.

"No problem. If you ever need someone to talk to, I'm your guy!" Naruto exclaimed as he stood up. "So, you wanna head back to the house?" He asked.

"No, I think I'm going to train for a bit." Mito said.

"Alright, don't stay out too long." Naruto said as he dashed toward the house. Mito stood up from her seat and jumped down to the clearing. She then created six clones.

"Alright, I want three of you to go to the lake and practice water manipulation, but be on guard for anything suspicious." Mito then addressed the remaining clones. "I want you three to work on the jutsu that Rei-obasan gave us to practice."

As the clones left to do their tasks, Mito began her physical training. About a week before they had left Konoha, Naruto had made seals that would generate a field of resistance around her body. It was as if she were walking through water. Occasionally, Naruto would have to increase the resistance, but her fuinjutsu training had progressed enough for her to adjust them herself. The higher the seal was set, the more resistance she would feel. 'Naruto said using these seals were a much better alternative to gravity seals since they wouldn't affect my body.' Naruto created these seals because he had learned that gravity seals affected the spine. The increased gravity would compress the spine, making one gradually shorter. He was sure that the gravity seal could have other unknown effects, but didn't want to risk it.

"_The gravity seals may be faster, but I don't want to risk you getting injured because it's faster." _He had said. Of course, he then made a comment on how short she was. That earned him a punch from her. 'As sweet as he can be sometimes, he sure is an ass.' Mito thought with snort. Naruto had spent a long time inventing the seal for her, and she was grateful, but did he have to smart-ass all the time?

Mito spent the next few hours training her body, and when a clone dispelled she created new ones. She made the clones dispel when they finished an exercise. Afterwards, she would create more clones, that way they would be more equipped for harder tasks. Her first three clones had managed to finish the first water manipulation exercise. The other clones were able to utilize one of the water jutsu, they hadn't mastered it, but it was battle-ready. By the time Mito had finished her physical exercises, she was dead tired. As she leaned against the base of a tree, she planned to rest her eyes before heading back to the house. However, she quickly fell asleep.

**-The Next Morning-**

A figure was currently walking through a clearing in the forest, occasionally crouching to pick some herbs. As the person walked deeper into the forest they saw a teenaged girl sleeping against a tree. The person walked towards girl, and knelt beside her. The person seemed to contemplative what to do, before gently shaking her awake.

"Excuse me, Miss, but you'll catch a cold if you sleep out here." The person's voice was kind, and decidingly feminine. Mito's eyes snapped open before looking at the person who woke her. Mito then straightened herself as she addressed the person in front of her. The person in front of her was definitely female based on her looks. She had dark brown hair that was the same length as her own, equally brown eyes, and an angular face. Around her neck was a black, cloth, choker. The girl was wearing a simple pink kimono, and was carrying a basket full of what looked like herbs.

"Um, thank you for your concern, but I'll be fine." Mito said politely. "My name is Mito, by the way." The girl smiled as she held out her hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Mito-san. My name is Haku."

* * *

**And Haku makes an appearance! Yes, I made Haku female...I don't really have a reason, I've just read more stories where Haku was female. I guess the idea just stuck. Hope the chapter wasn't too boring. And if it was, think of this chapter as the calm before the storm :) By the way, there may be some inconsistencies in this story. Like I may say something in one chapter about a character, but say something contradictory in another. There won't be many, but if there are don't be afraid to point them out. All forms of constructive criticism are welcome, encouraged even. Now, I have some important questions. Do you think the story is going to slow or too fast? Do you think I should put more action? Do you want shorter chapters and more updates, or longer chapters and less frequent updates? Tell me what you would like to see from my writing and I will try to adjust to your suggestions. Keep in mind that I am new to this, and if it conflicts with my plans for this story I won't do it. Also, remember that school is a variable for my writing. I just want to get some feedback, you can answer in a review or PM, either is fine. Thanks for reading :)**

**1)Mito usually addresses Naruto as her sensei in public, but will call him Naruto-kun in private or when she is happy, excited, relieved, etc.**

**2)Kakashi suspects that Naruto is training Mito, but isn't completely sure.**

**3)Mito caught him by surprise. Tactics are better than brute strength after all.**

**4)Rei was around the same age as Kushina was when she was sent to Konoha. Kushina was the daughter of the clan head (in my story at least).**

**5)Not sure if the boat driver was ever named :/**

**Date Uploaded: 9/30/2013**

**Last Edit: n/a**


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